Bells For Her
by Star Dazzled
Summary: AU. Darcy's spending her fifth summer at an all girls camp, where she meets Manny. They develop a quick bond, or is there more? Can Manny get Darcy to admit her feelings? Can they make it work? [Femslash. Darcy x Manny. COMPLETED 10.27]
1. Chapter One

**Author's Note**: As Darcy is a Christian girl, there will be many references to her religion in this -- but to my readers whom are of this specific religion, please understand that this is just a story. And I know this is a really weird pairing, but it just inspired me.  
**Disclaimer**: I'm just a silly fangirl in front of my computer -- I made the name, Echo Ridge Camp, off of the top of my head -- I do not know if it's a real camp, but if it is, I don't own it.

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**Bells For Her**  
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_"Can't stop what's coming,  
can't stop what's on its way..."  
-- Tori Amos, "Bells For Her"_

**One.  
-**

"Jeez, talk about having an _appetizing_ menu -- this place gets worse every year."

Darcy Edwards offered a small smirk to her friend, Chante, who was currently in the process of complaining about the grotesque looking thing Echo Ridge called a pizza. She pulled an apple onto her tray as they moved down the lunch line, and gave a little shrug to her bunkmate.

"Why do you keep coming?" She asked -- she herself came because it gave her something to do during the summer. She'd been coming for four years, and she would've rather preferred going to a Bible camp she'd read about online, but Camp Echo Ridge had been closer to home, and her parents couldn't stand the thought of their daughter being too far.

"You know," Chante said, picking up a bottle of water and shaking off some of the shaved ice that had stuck to it, "I ask myself the same thing every summer."

Darcy's smirk turned into a grin, and the two girls turned to go to the table they usually sat at every day. The mess hall of Camp Echo Ridge was currently full of chattering girls, as lunch time was the most popular time of the day there. Darcy kept close to Chante, in case the other girl ended up saying something -- it could sometimes be a little hard to hear with all the background buzzing that went on.

"There you guys are," a blonde girl said as they both sat down at their corner table with her.

"Sorry," Darcy said, smiling, "Chante had some horrible grass stains on her shirt from falling down that massive hill."

Chante rolled her eyes as the other girl, Blair, grinned. Blair was Darcy's other bunkmate, as it was standard for each cabin at the camp to hold three girls. You could call ahead if you knew who was going to be attending that year, and you could ask to be put in a certain girl's cabin (if there was a vacancy), but usually it was random. Darcy had been placed with Chante for two years in a row out of a random pick, though, which was cool. She'd just met Blair this year.

"I didn't _fall_ down that hill," Chante said, opening her water. "That one girl pushed me -- that What's-Her-Name girl."

"Nice try, Chante," Blair said, "But I actually saw it -- you _did_ fall, all by yourself. Maybe we should start calling you Grace for your lack of it."

"Ha ha," Chante said dryly, rolling her eyes. "Why are you two always picking on me? It's not like I'm the only one here with problems, Ms. Medication and Ms. Jesus-Freak."

Darcy's eyes rolled, while Blair only shrugged. Enter reason number one as to why Darcy wished she'd gone to a Bible camp instead -- at least everyone there would've been cool with her Christianity. Apparently Chante was some major Satanist or something, who took time out of her busy schedule at least once every day to comment on the Lord.

"Could you please not call me that, Grace?" Darcy asked, biting into her apple.

"Aw, it's no harm meant," Blair defended, good-naturedly. "Besides, Chante's just jealous that she's too unimaginative to believe in God."

Darcy side-glanced Chante who rolled her eyes once more, pretending not to have heard any of it. Blair laughed, and started eating her lunch -- what Darcy had to assume was a chili of sorts, as she was too afraid to ask -- and Darcy threw a quick look around the mess hall.

Most of the girls at Echo Ridge knew each other, so it wasn't unusual for there to be empty tables among them -- girls would crowd as many as they could to a single table, just so they wouldn't have to split up their little group. It was, however, just a little strange to see a girl sitting all by herself at one of the window tables. She was petite, pretty, long dark hair hanging in curtains around her face, and she seemed to be staring at her lap -- she had no food in front of her. Darcy had never seen her before, but it didn't take a genius to figure out that she was probably just new this year. Since it was the beginning week of summer, girls were still allowed to enroll at the last minute.

"Don't ya know staring's rude?" A voice asked, and a body blocked Darcy's vision of the new girl.

Gretchen, a girl with lip rings and dyed black hair, sat down across from Darcy, bringing with her the horror that was Echo Ridge's pizza. She and Darcy had almost gotten into a fight two years before, and somehow this had solidified a sort of friendship between them.

"I wasn't staring at anything," Darcy said.

"Oh please," Gretchen said, eyes flashing in amusement. "Them eyeballs were about to pop right outta your sockets."

Darcy grinned and shook her head. "Look, why don't you go sacrifice more goats or something?" She asked playfully.

"As long as you sit by and masturbate with your crucifix at the same time," Gretchen was always quick with her snappy and vulgar answers.

Darcy flushed just slightly, but continued eating. "So gross," she said.

Gretchen grinned at her, before sticking her pierced tongue out and wiggling her eyebrows, causing Blair and Chante to laugh like it were the greatest joke in all history. Darcy shook her head again, but fell silent as Gretchen and Blair started up a story about some boy they both knew.

Darcy found her gaze wander back to the new girl by herself -- she'd moved a little, and was now staring moodily out the window instead of at her lap. She had a surprising look of sadness on her face that was so strong Darcy was struck with the momentary urge to be sad herself. It made her somewhat uncomfortable, and she set her apple done, not really knowing if she was in the mood to eat anymore.

"Guys," she said, finally unable to contain her curiosity, "Is that a new girl, or something?"

All three of them craned their necks to look, to which Darcy ducked slightly, a little embarrassed at their obvious behavior. A look suddenly came to Blair's face, and she spun around to them smirking.

"Yeah, I overheard some of the counselors talking about her," she said. "Her name's...Marlene or something like that. Apparently she had an abortion and her parents made her come here."

Darcy felt her eyes widen while Gretchen gave a low whistle. Chante blinked a few times before raising her eyebrows.

"You're not serious...?" She said, surprised.

Blair nodded. "It's what I heard," she answered. "She must've been a real sort of slut to get knocked up at this age."

"Blair!" Darcy said, before flushing. She hadn't meant to sound so mad, but it's just the way it'd come out. She shook her head slightly to get her bangs out of her face and shrugged a shoulder. "You don't know the girl, there's no reason to be mean."

"Yeah Blair," Gretchen said, "How would you like it if people you didn't know made rude comments behind your back? Oh wait, they already do."

Blair rolled her eyes and playfully smacked Gretchen, but Darcy climbed to her feet. Chante looked up at her like she'd lost her mind.

"What are you doing?" She asked.

Darcy shrugged. "I just want to go say 'hi'," she said.

And grabbing her apple to throw it away, Darcy walked away from the table.

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Manny Santos did _not_ like her life at the moment -- in fact, you could even say she quite hated it. As she stared out the window of the mess hall, watching as one of the camp counselors picked up some spilled garbage, she felt like tearing her hair out in frustration. She wanted to run away, disappear off into the mountains or something -- she just needed to get away from her life.

She didn't want to be Manny Santos anymore. Not after...not after _that_.

She wished her mother had been as cool as Emma's had -- but as soon as Manny had said the 'a' word, her parents had both exploded like fireworks. They'd made her feel like dirt, worse than dirt, considering the actual abortion process had made her feel like that already. And Craig. Craig had been so pissed -- she would've liked to see him carry him a baby in him for nine months before having to push it out.

Manny was just getting ready to stand up and leave, when the chair across from her was pulled out quickly, and a pretty brunette had sat down. She was skinny, with a heart-shaped face and a too-big smile, but Manny was confused. Did this girl think she knew her? She looked around cautiously, before the girl extended a hand across the table.

"Hi," she said, "I'm Darcy -- I saw that you were new, and thought I'd come introduce myself."

Still a tad confused, Manny reached out and shook Darcy's hand lightly. "Hi," she said unsurely. "I'm..." She wanted to say Manuela, as she was still thinking that she didn't want to be Manny anymore, but she changed her mind at the last moment. "Manny," she said.

"Manny," the girl Darcy repeated, nodding. "It's nice to meet you."

Manny nodded, attempting to smile, but she was sure it came out looking like she'd just tasted a lemon. She turned back to the window, crossing her arms over her chest. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Darcy shift in her seat, studying her.

"Why do you look so sad, Manny?" Darcy asked. "This place is actually kind of fun when you get used to it."

Manny rolled her eyes slightly, before sighing. "Guess I better tell you right off the bat," she said, "In case you want to run away and never speak to me again."

Darcy cocked her head at her, and Manny wet her dry lips with the tip of her tongue.

"I recently...had an abortion," Manny said, and at Darcy's incredulous look, she nodded. "Yep, I'm a baby-killer. The only reason I'm here at this stupid camp is because my parents seem to think it'll be good for me, in some demented way. I'm sad because I hate myself at the moment."

Darcy watched her with wide eyes for a moment, and Manny was sure the taller girl was going to go running away, but to her surprise, Darcy didn't move. She just lowered her gaze, and started twiddling her thumbs on top of the table.

"You shouldn't have to hate yourself," she finally said, in a soft tone. "Though I _am_ against abortion, it's no reason to outcast you. 'Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong'."

Manny's brow furrowed slightly. "Is that Gandhi?" She asked.

Darcy nodded, giving a sheepish smile. "Yes," she answered, "I like to apply it to God though."

Manny wanted to say something along the lines of, 'Oh no, not a Bible-thumper', but she found that she couldn't. Despite the bubbly and over-happy attitude Darcy appeared to have, Manny actually kind of liked her. She smiled at the other girl.

"Well, thank you," she said. "You and a select few others seem to be the only ones who don't consider me the Devil for getting an abortion."

Darcy grinned and shook her head. "If that's all it took to be the Devil, I wouldn't want to know how easy it was for someone to become God."

Manny had her first laugh of the day because of this Darcy girl, and she realized that with just the small bit of conversation they'd shared, she was feeling much better than she had been all day. Darcy suddenly looked around though, and frowned.

"I have to get going," she said, "But it's really cool meeting you -- I know I'll see you around now that you're here."

Manny nodded, somewhat disheartened at having her first at-camp friend have to go. "I'll see you around then," she said. "And thank you."

Darcy smiled as she stood up, and she shook her head. "Don't mention it," she said, before pushing in her chair and starting away.

Manny slid down in her chair a little, looking out the window once more, but this time with a half-smile on her face. She wouldn't let Camp Echo Ridge get her down -- summer wouldn't last too long, would it?

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Darcy entered the bath-house with Chante and Blair, each of them clutching their own bag of washroom goodies, and she sighed. She hated when the weather decided on its own that it wanted to be particularly hot some days, as it was always these days when the camp counselors had strenuous activities planned. And strenuous activities in intense heat always meant a lot of sweat.

The bath-house at Echo Ridge (that was only for the attending girls, not the counselors) was perhaps the nicest thing about the camp. In the front of the one-level building were toilets and sinks, along with mirrors (both small and full-size ones), and then there was another room which had a good amount of shower stalls, each with curtains that pulled shut for privacy. It was cleaned regularly, for which _everyone_ was glad.

"So how about that Jonathan?" Chante asked, wiggling her eyebrows at both Blair and Darcy as they passed through to the showers. Jonathan was one of the counselors, the one who specialized in sports like softball and volleyball -- a lot of the girls at Echo Ridge seemed to think he was something.

Darcy just shook her head, and Blair smirked.

"I heard he was gay," Blair said nonchalantly, stopping at the stall she'd claimed as her own.

Chante gasped, choosing the one beside her. "Shut up," she said, "He is so not gay."

Darcy shook her head, unable to keep from smiling, as she hung her bag on the hook outside a different empty stall. She pulled her towel out of it, and kicked off her flip-flops before grabbing for her tee shirt. Chante was already well on her way to being completely stripped -- she took showers faster than anybody Darcy knew; she couldn't understand how the other girl managed to even wash her hair in the amount of time she spent.

Darcy was pulling her shirt over her head when she heard an outburst from the back of the shower-room.

"Just leave me alone!"

Silence blanketed the girls faster than the speed of light, and everyone turned in anticipation to see if there was going to be a brawl. What they saw was the new girl, Manny as Darcy knew, fresh out of a shower, with her clothes sticking to her body and her hair sopping wet. Her face was red, and she was surrounded by a trio of girls in a half-circle around her. They were all much taller than her, and had obviously made a game of making fun of her.

"What's the matter?" The tallest of the bunch asked in a mocking voice, reaching forward to flick Manny's nose. "Is the slut a little grumpy because this place is girls only?"

Manny's hand sliced through the air like a knife through butter, and the sound of her palm against the other girl's cheek echoed off of the tile. A few girls gasped, but then the other two girls, the first one's cronies, grabbed Manny by her arms, holding her back some.

Darcy was shocked, appalled even, that there was this sort of behavior at Echo Ridge. All the years she'd come to the camp, she'd never seen such hostile and cruelness from any of the girls. There was no way she was going to sit back like the rest of the campers -- she took a deep breath.

"Hey," she said loudly, before anything else could happen to Manny, "Leave her alone."

Chante's eyes were as wide as plates, and Blair's eyebrows had risen so high that they were invisible under her bangs. Manny, despite her embarrassment and anger, was now wearing the smallest hint of a smile, and the girls who'd been torturing her let her go. The tallest took a step towards Darcy.

"What?" She asked.

"You heard me," Darcy said, jutting her chin out. "You're acting like a couple of grade fours."

The tall girl, whom Darcy had nicknamed Sasquatch in her head, cocked her head, eyes narrowing. She looked about ready to charge at Darcy like a football player, but after a moment smirked. She made a raspberry type noise, swatting at the air.

"You aren't even worth it, Jesus-freak," she said. She turned to her friends, "Come on."

The silence and tension in the room was near palpable as the three bullies neared the exit of the shower-room. They were gone for a good two minutes before the girls all went back to what they'd previously been doing. Chante said something quietly to Blair, before they both climbed into their stalls, and Manny took a few small steps towards Darcy. Her face was still red, but her eyes were downcast, and she seemed suddenly sheepish.

"Thanks," she said. "Nobody's really ever stood up for me before."

Darcy smiled, "Don't worry about it," she said. "I just can't believe they'd be so mean."

Manny shrugged, as if to say she'd had it coming, and Darcy patted at her hair almost nervously. Manny then visibly swallowed, and gestured towards the exit.

"Well, I guess I'll get back to my cabin, then," she said.

Darcy nodded. "I'll see you tomorrow sometime," she said.

Manny offered her a little grin before walking away. Darcy watched her disappear, before continuing with what she was doing. She didn't know why, but she was growing very fond of the other girl -- it felt as if they'd met each other before, like they were already good friends. It was nice -- as she still didn't feel that close to Chante or Gretchen. Maybe she'd just been meant to meet Manny.

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**Author's Note**: I don't normally "beg" for reviews, but please let me know what you think. I want to know if this idea even interests a few people other than myself, and know that I'm not wasting my time by posting it here. Thanks guys. :D


	2. Chapter Two

**Author's Note**: Thanks a lot to OhioIs4Lvrs, JG2010, bohemianxx and modernxxmyth. :) This chapter came out longer than I'd thought it would, wow.

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**Bells For Her**  
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_"When I feel like crashing down, you seem to be around.  
__There you are, you're not that far."  
-- Aly & A.J., "Protecting Me"_

**Two.  
-**

The next morning, Darcy had looked for Manny in the mess hall, but she hadn't been too surprised when she didn't see her -- a lot of girls would skip breakfast just so they could get a little longer to sleep in. Blair did that often, as she always stayed up past curfew writing or reading with a flashlight.

"So what's on the agenda today?" Chante asked as they were sitting at their table. "I can't remember."

"Canoeing," Darcy answered.

Chante made a face, nose wrinkling. "Canoeing?" She repeated. "Did we have to do that last year?"

Darcy paused thoughtfully, before shaking her head. "No," she answered. "Loraine had to take that long absence last year, and she's the one who supervises water activities."

Chante nodded, starting to eat. "I remember now, she got really sick or something," she said. "It's a shame she got better -- I don't see the purpose of canoeing across the lake."

Darcy shrugged. "I think it's kind of fun," she answered, "Though I'm really no good at it -- it looks so much easier than it really is. Besides, I think it's all about teaching us teamwork."

Chante rolled her eyes. "I'd rather go hide out in the showers until it's over with." She said. "In fact, I think I will -- don't rat me out."

It was Darcy's turn to roll her eyes. "And when Loraine comes to ask you where you were?" She asked.

"I'll make something up," Chante said with a shrug. "Tell her I got sick and couldn't stand up without feeling light-headed or something."

Darcy slowly shook her head, smirking, but didn't say anything. She had to admit, she was actually looking forward to canoeing -- more so, she was hoping she'd get another chance to talk to Manny. There was just something about that girl that Darcy couldn't help but feel drawn to.

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A soft breeze caused ripples to glide across the surface of the lake, webbing out from the bottoms of the canoes that were half-wedged in the water and half on land. Loraine, an older woman with muscular legs and a blonde bob, was standing before a group of girls, hands on her hips and clipboard tucked under an arm. Her silver whistle hung around her neck, gleaming in the sunlight, as she looked around, waiting for the rest of the girls to show up.

Manny shifted her weight almost impatiently, crossing her arms over her chest. She'd never been canoeing before -- then again, she'd never really done anything that involved the outdoors like this. She was more than a little nervous, despite the fact that she loved swimming. Most of it was because she was afraid of being paired up with someone who didn't like her -- as it would seem that there were already a small group of people that fit this description.

She shifted again, this time reaching down to smack at an itch on her leg -- she mentally cursed mosquitos and anything related to them. Stupid bugs. When she straightened, she tugged awkwardly at her tee shirt -- she'd been given the camp uniform that morning: a yellow shirt with dark blue trim and a pair of shorts that were the same blue color. The shirt was plain except for a small left breast pocket that bore the logo of Camp Echo Ridge. It was hideous, needless to say.

"Alright," Loraine said suddenly, her voice was gruff, "All of you should be here by now -- today we will be canoeing across the lake and back. You will be put into pairs and..."

"Hi," someone to Manny's right suddenly whispered, as Loraine continued her speech.

Manny turned, instantly smiling when she found Darcy's big grin.

"Hey," she whispered back.

Darcy glanced towards Loraine as she reached up to put her wavy hair in a ponytail, and Manny found she couldn't look away from her for some reason.

"How are you?" The taller girl asked, keeping her tone low.

"Better now," Manny answered truthfully. "I'm so uncomfortable here."

"You'll get used to it," Darcy assured. "You ever canoe before?"

Manny shook her head sheepishly. "No, I'm more of an indoors kind of person."

Darcy grinned again. "Don't worry," she said, "There are _a lot_ of girls here who can't do it. Loraine's goal is to get us across the lake and back, but most girls can only ever get across it -- and badly at that. When that happens, we resort to walking back around to here."

"Wow," Manny said, "Around the lake?"

She glanced at it as she spoke -- it was the biggest lake she'd ever seen, and she couldn't imagine walking around it in either direction. Loraine had chosen the direct middle of the water for them to canoe in.

"It surprisingly doesn't take that long," Darcy said. "You just have to keep up a smooth pace, and put your mind on other things."

"Like what?" Manny asked playfully, "How much you never want to canoe again?"

Darcy started to laugh but Loraine cleared her throat.

"Ladies?" The counselor said, quirking a brow.

"Sorry Loraine," Darcy quickly said, as Manny nodded in agreement.

Loraine nodded, seemingly pleased, and went on. "Anyway -- I have to ask this, how many of you can't swim?"

Two girls out of the whole group raised their hands, and Loraine nodded. She pointed to her left at a large box, where something bright and orange was poking out.

"I'm gonna have to ask you to put on one of these life jackets," she said. "I know they're uncomfortable and ugly as sin, but they could very well save your life, if for some reason, you fell into the water." She focused her attention on the rest of the group. "Everyone else, you don't _have_ to wear one, I won't make you, but it's recommended that you do. Come on up and grab one now."

The two girls who couldn't swim were first to get some, but then a good amount of others seemed to decide they wanted one. Darcy glanced at Manny.

"Are you getting one?" She asked.

Manny laughed. "No way," she said.

Loraine waited for everyone to get their life jackets, before explaining how things worked. Manny nervously played with her shirt or her ponytail, but she wasn't listening -- she was too busy thinking about the kind of fool she'd make out of herself once she got out on the water. If it weren't for Darcy standing right beside her, she probably would've tried to sneak away and back to her cabin.

"Alright now," Loraine said. "I want all of you girls to partner up -- I'll give you till the count of ten to decide who you want to be with, and then I'll pair you up myself."

There was a scramble as girls started searching for partners, and Manny hung back a little, expecting Darcy to go off with one of her other friends. But Darcy flashed her a smile.

"Partners?" She asked.

Manny almost let out a sigh of relief, and with a small smile of her own, she nodded. "Sure," she answered.

When Loraine blew her whistle at ten, all of the girls had already paired off -- it was amazing how fast people could accomplish something when given a time limit. Or at least, Loraine seemed to think so, looking around at all the girls with a smile on her face -- as if she were proud of her work. She then gestured to the canoes.

"Grab your paddles and get goin'," she said, feigning excitement.

Darcy flashed Manny another smirk, before leading her towards the pile of dry paddles lying on the ground beside the canoes. After swatting at a fly buzzing around them, she then passed one to Manny, before grabbing one for herself.

"You can pick the canoe if you want," she said.

Manny didn't really see how any of the canoes were different, but she smiled in thanks and the two started off towards the line of small boats. Manny chose one randomly, stopping beside it and glancing at Darcy, who grinned again.

"Perfect," she said, "You wanna get in first?"

"Uh..." Manny glanced down at the boat, before scratched the back of her neck. "I kind of...don't know how to climb in," she said. "I don't want to tip it over or anything."

Darcy's smile remained on her face, only it wasn't one of ridicule, and she nodded. "That's alright," she said, "I'll show you."

She grabbed onto the back of the canoe, stepping into it gracefully -- like a pro, Manny thought, feeling a little dumb. Darcy sat down on the front support, and turned sideways to see Manny, giving her an encouraging nod. Manny took a deep breath, before nearing the canoe. She bent down and set her paddle inside it first, before she grabbed it in the same place that Darcy had, pausing as it rocked uneasily.

"Here," Darcy said cheerfully, reaching back and holding one of her hands out to Manny.

Manny muttered a small thanks, blushing, and she reached out to take the taller girl's hand, leaving her other one on the back of the boat. Her fingers closed around Darcy's, and a sensation of sorts seemed to shoot up her arm, making her hesitate again -- a warm tingly feeling that almost gave her goosebumps. Darcy's expression changed to one of concern, and Manny felt ten times more stupid.

Instead of wasting time, she all but jumped onto the canoe, and dropped onto the back support quickly, holding onto the sides of it as it shook slightly. She realized, a second later, that her eyes were closed -- as if she'd been afraid that her sitting down would cause an explosion. She slowly opened them to find Darcy still turned to her, smiling again.

"You okay?" She asked.

Manny quickly nodded and reached for her paddle, glancing at some of the other boats that had already made it out onto the water. "Yeah," she answered. "Let's just get this over with -- and hope we don't have to walk."

Darcy laughed a little. "Alright," she said, "Well first it might seem easy, because all we're doing is pushing off of the ground with our paddles -- it gets harder once we get to about where they are." She nodded at a boat of girls, who were suddenly having a lot of trouble moving.

"Great," Manny said sarcastically.

Darcy stuck her paddle over the left side, so Manny chose the right. She was surprised at how right Darcy had been -- when they had the dirt to stick their paddles into, it was actually kind of easy to push them along. It was a work-out, that's for sure, but thankfully, not as bad as Manny had thought. And when she looked around, she felt a lot better seeing all of the other girls who were having trouble.

"It's gonna get hard after this," Darcy said suddenly, panting with the effort.

And sure enough, as if Darcy had jinxed them, they reached much deeper water, and Manny found that all she could do was smack her paddle against the water uselessly a few times. She gave a small huff and brought the paddle inside, setting it on her lap.

She started to ask if they could take a break, but Darcy didn't notice, and as she attempted to propel them along with her paddle, she ended up splashing a little water into the boat. Manny jumped as her legs were suddenly drenched with cool water, and for a moment, she could only gape at the back of Darcy's head. Darcy spun immediately though, mouth open in a small 'o' and eyes wide.

"Oh, Manny," she said, "I'm sorry!"

Manny looked down at her legs -- the bottom of her shorts were wet, and she could feel her socks slowly absorbing the water as it slid down into her shoes. She looked back up at Darcy, who still regarded her with a look of shock, and she laughed.

"Don't worry about it," she said, still laughing. "It _was_ getting to be a little too hot out here."

Darcy's shoulders moved with the force of her relieved sigh, and she smiled. "Oh good," she said, "I _am_ sorry, though."

Manny shook her head, forgetting that she even wanted a break, and picked up her paddle. "It's all good," she said. "Hell, we can't exactly come out here on a lake and expect _not_ to get wet, right?"

Darcy smiled. "Right," she said.

She turned back around, and the girls resumed attempting to get their canoe across the lake. They made it a few more feet -- mostly because all the splashing their paddles were doing created waves just strong enough to push them an inch or so forward every few seconds. Manny soon found herself panting, and she gave a deep sigh, still struggling to get them moving.

"Wow," she said breathlessly, "This is harder than I thought it would be."

Darcy said something, but Manny had been unable to hear it because at the exact same time, the taller girl ended up splashing water into their small boat _again_ -- this time more than before. Manny jumped again, and Darcy glanced at her -- this time not as worried.

"Crap," Darcy said, "Sorry again."

Manny grinned. "Now you're just doing it on purpose," she said.

Darcy started to get defensive, but she realized that Manny was joking and she mirrored the smile. "Sorry," she said again, turning back around.

As they tried once more, they found that their paddles were no longer making their boat inch forward, but spin slowly. They _had_ been facing the side of the lake they were supposed to go, but now they were turning slowly, able to see Loraine still standing at the bank. The supervisor was currently trying to help a nervous girl into her canoe.

"Oh my God," Manny said with a small groan. "This sucks." She suddenly realized who she was with and flushed. "Sorry, sorry," she said quickly, "About the...'oh my God' thing."

Darcy laughed, shaking her head. "Manny, it's no problem -- really," she said. "I'm not gonna bite your head off or anything, I promise."

Manny laughed, but the two fell silent, both trying to paddle their way _somewhere_. Manny didn't even care if they made it to the other side of the lake, she just wanted to go somewhere.

"Darcy," she said, still trying to paddle, "Do you think we could take a break?"

Darcy glanced over her shoulder once more, and nodded. "Good idea," she said, bringing her paddle back inside the boat.

Manny followed suit, giving a small sigh. She was still soaking wet from the shorts down but at the moment it felt good. She glanced up at the sky, shielding her eyes slightly, and she mentally cursed the sun. Why did it have to be so close to the earth?

A handful of water suddenly hit her, and she looked down again, only to see Darcy looking pointedly in the other direction, as if admiring the sights. A smirk slowly spread to Manny's face as she watched the other girl, and after a second or two, she caught Darcy's lips twitching slightly as she bit back her grin.

Manny held her breath, trying to be as silent as she could, and she reached over the side of the canoe. Sticking her hand into the cool water of the lake, she cupped her hand and kept her eyes on Darcy. Now grinning from ear-to-ear, Manny swung her arm, sending water streaking up into the boat and smacking against Darcy's back, making the other girl jump about three feet out of her seat.

That's all it took, and it was on.

Darcy almost risked tipping their boat so she could turn around in her seat, and in seconds they were both leaning over the side of the boat, splashing each other with water. They both knew that everyone else was watching them, but for a small moment it was just them on that lake, able to laugh as loud as they wanted.

That small moment ended, however, as the canoe rocked a little too hard to one side, and with a groan from the old wood it was made out of, the boat flipped over. Manny was able to let out a short half-scream before sinking into the water, and she came up sputtering to find Darcy doing the same, as well as grabbing onto the capsized boat.

They both glanced at each other and started laughing at the same time. It didn't even surprise them when the sound of the other girls laughing reached their ears, and though Manny felt like she should be embarrassed, she couldn't stop laughing long enough to.

But apparently, Loraine was less than impressed.

---------------------------------------------

Darcy shifted on the wooden chair, biting at one of her nails as the clock on the wall ticked quietly. Manny was sitting beside her in the small cabin that belonged to Geena, the head of Camp Echo Ridge, who Loraine had sent them to. The woman in question wasn't in her "office" at the moment though, and the two girls were alone to think about what this was all about.

A part of Darcy couldn't understand it, as her and Manny had just been having fun -- it'd been an accident. But another part of Darcy knew it'd partly been her fault; splashing and horsing around wasn't exactly the thing to do when you were supposed to be canoeing. She side-glanced Manny.

The smaller girl's ponytail was almost completely out, and her wet hair framed her face as a few strands laid across her forehead. Darcy self-consciously reached up to touch her hair, and she sighed quietly.

"I'm sorry," Manny said suddenly.

"For what?" Darcy asked after a moment.

"Getting us in trouble," Manny answered.

Darcy smirked. "Oh come on," she said, "What's the worst they're gonna do to us for this?"

"Good question, ladies," said a different voice.

They both spun in their seats to see Geena in the doorway, thick sunglasses shielding her eyes, and frizzy red hair sticking up in all places. The older woman entered the small office, saying no more and not looking at them, and she rounded her desk to her chair. After cleaning up a few papers on her desk, she sat down, steepling her fingers and looking out at the two girls.

"So," Geena said, "Why don't you tell me why you two are here?"

"We were horsing around," Darcy answered truthfully. "We turned over our canoe."

Geena raised her eyebrows, before glancing at Manny who nodded.

"Flipped it right over," Manny added in a low tone, keeping her gaze pointed at the floor.

Geena nodded herself, and looked between the two girls. There was a long moment of silence before the woman sighed. "Well," she said, "It's definitely not the first time to happen," she said, "Loraine seems to just have a problem with anyone having fun." She glanced between them again, "Though, I _do_ have to give you some sort of punishment," she said, "Have to keep up my 'Big-Bad-Leader' persona."

Darcy had always kind of liked Geena, but then again she'd never seen her bad side. She nodded, because she felt like that was what Geena was waiting for.

"I think if you have cleaning duties for the rest of the day," Geena said, "In the mess hall, I mean -- clean up after lunch and dinner tonight. You know your way around, right Miss Edwards?"

Darcy nodded, while Manny kept her gaze lowered. "Yes," Darcy answered. "I'll show Manny where all the supplies are," she then put on a smile for good measure.

Geena nodded again. "Good," she said.

The woman gave a wave of her hand, and Darcy knew this to be the gesture that dismissed them. She quickly stood up and grabbed Manny's hand lightly, pulling the smaller girl to her feet.

---------------------------------------------

"We have to clean the whole hall?"

Darcy nodded as she pulled the mop from the closet. She passed it to Manny, before going back inside it. The light was broken, so she was really just trying to find the supplies in the dark.

"That's a bit unfair if you ask me," Manny said, sliding the dry mop across the floor for fun. "It's not like we damaged anything."

Darcy shrugged, coming out of the closet now with a regular broom and a bucket. She held the bucket out for Manny. "Can you go fill this up?" She asked, nodding her head sideways at the maintenance sink against the wall.

Manny nodded, taking the bucket and slowly trudging towards the sink as Darcy disappeared back into the closet, leaning the broom against the wall outside it. As the weak stream of water began to fill up the dark blue bucket, making heavy drumming noises against the plastic, Manny sighed, reaching up to scratch her cheek. She didn't mind cleaning, oh no. It was just that all of the girls attending Echo Ridge were a lot messier than you'd think girls should be.

Approaching footsteps made her glance up in time to see two girls walking past her. She didn't know them, but she didn't want to. One of them whispered something to the other, and then they both looked at her before laughing. They didn't even try to hide their laughter -- just threw their heads back and let it go. Manny's eyes narrowed, and she watched them walk all the way down the hall, contemplating whether or not she wanted to shove her mop up their asses.

"Hey."

She spun to see Darcy on her other side, looking concerned and glancing at the departing girls. Her brow was furrowed, lips slightly parted, and for a second Manny was struck with a certain feeling -- a feeling she couldn't understand. She attributed it to Darcy being so protective of her, as if Darcy actually cared.

"What did they say?" Darcy asked.

Manny averted her gaze, choosing instead to look at the floor. "Nothing," she answered. "They didn't need to, I guess. What with the way they were looking at me and all?"

"You shouldn't let them get to you," Darcy said, placing her free hand on Manny's arm -- the other one was holding a bucket of cleaning detergents and sprays. "What does it matter what they think?"

Manny swallowed, ignoring the sparks coming from Darcy's fingertips, and she shrugged. "It might not matter," she said softly, "But that doesn't mean it doesn't hurt."

Their gazes met and locked, and for a second Manny felt like the whole world had melted away. Why couldn't she have a friend at home like Darcy? Darcy didn't judge, didn't make fun of people -- she was, all around, an accepting and kind person.

"If we focus on what others think of us," Darcy said, breaking the silence and looking a little flustered all of a sudden, "Then we'll have no time to make ourselves happy."

Manny smiled. "You're one of a kind, Darce," she said. "Thank you."

Darcy returned the smile, and she nodded. But instead of saying 'you're welcome', she suddenly pointed into the sink. "The water."

Manny looked down to find the bucket overflowing, and she quickly turned off the faucet, giving a little laugh. Darcy grinned at her, before turning around and going back towards the closet. Manny watched her go, brow furrowed just slightly as she was lost in her own thoughts. She shrugged them away, and tilted the bucket to empty out some of the water.

This cleaning thing wouldn't be so bad -- at least she'd be spending more time with Darcy.


	3. Chapter Three

**Author's Note**: Thanks guys -- so much. :)

---------------------------------------------  
**Bells For Her**  
---------------------------------------------  
_"If you'll trust me, love me, let me.  
Maybe, maybe."  
-- Kelly Clarkson, "Maybe"_

**Three.  
-**

The sky was more gray than blue on that Friday morning with hints of clouds in the distance, threatening rainfall. As Manny slowly made her way down the beaten trail towards the lake, she half-hoped a storm would start at that very moment. Today's activity was fishing -- _fishing_. She'd much rather have to do canoeing all over again, and as she reached the bank where Loraine was talking to a different girl, she sighed lightly, crossing her arms.

She was earlier than she'd expected, and there were only four other girls there -- Manny recognized one of them as the girl that had been messing with her in the showers, and she started to instinctively take a step backward, despite the fact that the girl hadn't seen her. This step backward, however, proved to be a not-so-good idea, as she felt herself trod on someone else's foot -- that someone else letting out a yelp of surprise.

Manny quickly spun, stammering out an apology, and she immediately flushed when she found that it was Darcy. She grabbed one of the other girl's hands in both of hers. "Sorry," she said, "God I'm sorry."

Darcy laughed, shaking her head. "Manny," she said, "It's _okay_, really. I'm fine -- it just scared me, is all."

"I feel like a major idiot," Manny said, still able to feel the heat in her cheeks. She smiled, "Perhaps I should warn you that I can be a bit clumsy sometimes."

"Hey," Darcy said, "In case you can't remember Wednesday's events, I'm the one who tripped over the broom when we were putting the supplies away."

Manny had to laugh, replaying the incident in her mind -- the girls had been cleaning up the mess hall after dinner, as they'd been told, and when they were finishing, Darcy had grabbed the bucket of cleaning soaps to take to the closet. She'd forgotten the broom was laying on the floor, and before Manny could help her, Darcy had went sprawling to her stomach. It _did_ make Manny feel better about her own klutziness.

"That's true," she said. She suddenly realized that she was still holding Darcy's hand, and she quickly let go.

The two of them turned back towards Loraine, who'd resumed her usual stance -- hands on her hips, clipboard under her arm, and chin up. She was waiting for the rest of the girls to show up, and who knew how long that would take? Darcy sighed beside Manny, and side-glanced the smaller girl.

"You ever fish?" She asked.

Manny shook her head. "I never really saw what could be fun about pulling fish out of their habitats and homes," she said, "And giving them the scare of a lifetime."

Darcy smiled. "Yeah," she agreed. "There are like five fish in this entire lake though -- we rarely ever actually catch one. And when we do, it gets returned to the water -- but that's when we do."

"Why make us fish if there's no chance we can catch one?" Manny asked, brow furrowing.

Darcy gave a little laugh, shrugging her shoulders. "Honestly," she said, "I don't know. I can at least justify things like canoeing -- we do that for teamwork. But _fishing_? Beats the heck outta me."

Manny grinned, but Loraine had suddenly started speaking -- apparently enough girls had finally shown up to make her happy. As Darcy watched the counselor, actually looking to be listening attentively, Manny found her mind wander elsewhere. Earlier when she'd grabbed Darcy's hand, squeezing it and holding onto it for an unnecessary long time, she'd gotten those sparks again. Waves of tingles had shot up her arms, making her whole body feel warm inside.

She almost jumped as Loraine suddenly blew her whistle, and when she looked up at the woman, Loraine was gesturing where she'd laid out all the fishing rods that were being provided. There was going to be one to every two girls, which meant partners, but apparently everyone had already chosen who they wanted to be with.

"Let's go get 'em!" Loraine was saying with her fake excitement again.

"Were you even paying attention?" Darcy asked Manny in an undertone as the two neared the rods.

Manny side-glanced her, smirking slightly. "Uh...maybe?"

Darcy laughed. "Don't worry," she said, "I'll sum it up for you. Basically, we're going to cast empty hooks out into the lake just for practice. When Loraine thinks we've had enough practice, then we use bait."

Manny made a face. "Bait?" She asked. "Like worms?"

Darcy nodded, also making a face. But then she smirked. "Which is why we have to act like we're really bad when we're casting out -- Loraine'll never upgrade us to using bait."

"Wow," Manny said grinning, "I like your style."

Darcy grinned and in seconds they had their fishing rod, and the taller girl was leading them down the bank a little, away from the other girls. Manny threw a small look at the sky -- the sun was trying to peak through clouds, but it wasn't doing too good a job; this thankfully made the day feel cooler than it had been the past few days.

"I'll go first," Darcy said, interrupting her thoughts, "Show you how to do it -- or at least, how I do it."

Manny smirked, crossing her arms over her shoulders, and she watched as Darcy checked the reel and line, making sure it was good enough to use. Then, throwing her a smile, Darcy swung the rod back a little, then forward, sending the hook streaming through the air. It dropped softly in the water, with barely any noise, and Darcy started to reel it back in.

"You have to make sure you aren't around trees and stuff," Darcy said. "About two years ago, I was trying to cast out, and the line got tangled up around a small branch, because I'd been more concerned about standing in the shade."

Manny laughed, but didn't say anything, and after Darcy had reeled the line back in, she held the rod out to the smaller girl. She raised a brow.

"Want to try?" She asked. "It's okay if not, I'll do it again."

Manny shrugged her shoulders and held one of her hands out. "No, I'll do it," she said. "Gotta learn somehow, right?"

Darcy grinned, passing over the rod, and she moved over to let Manny stand where she'd been. The smaller girl held the rod up some, and Darcy suddenly reached over.

"It's easier if you hold it like this," she said, guiding Manny's hand. "But Loraine won't tell you that."

Manny laughed, trying to ignore the heat coming from Darcy's touch. "Of course not," she said, "They want us to suffer."

Darcy grinned, still holding onto Manny's hand, this time she brought her other arm around Manny to place Manny's second hand. "To cast out," she said, "Bring it back just slightly, and let it go."

She was moving Manny's arms in the motions that she would do to cast, but Manny was too busy focusing on the confusing feeling shooting through her body. She didn't like girls -- or at least, she thought she didn't like girls -- but for some reason, she was finding it strangely comfortable to have Darcy's arms around her like that. It made her feel elated, happy -- it was nice, to say the least.

"Bring it back and let it go," Manny repeated quickly, struggling not to sound like a robot. She really couldn't comprehend anything that Darcy had said to her, but she could at least pretend.

"Bring it back _just slightly_," Darcy corrected, playfully, "And let it go."

Manny gave a sheepish laugh, and Darcy's arms slipped away. The taller girl stepped off to the side, smiling encouragingly, and Manny swallowed, nodding. When she turned back to face the lake however, she almost gave a desperate sigh. She couldn't fish -- she hadn't been paying attention to anything Darcy was doing, just _how_ she was doing it. With a deep breath, she nodded to herself.

"Bring it back," she whispered to herself, "And let it go."

She swung the rod back, and knew immediately that she'd done it wrong -- it could've been the way the rod slipped somewhat in her grip that made her know, or perhaps it was the short cry that Darcy emitted.

Manny spun, dropping the rod and her hands flew to her mouth as she saw Darcy, somewhat bent over and one of her hands covering the right side of her face. Manny felt suddenly as if she were going to pass out, tears welling in her eyes. She'd gone and ripped Darcy's eye out, that was it, she just knew it. Now Darcy was going to have to get a fake one, one of those glass ones that make _popping_ noises when you pull them out, and she was probably never going to talk to her again.

"Oh God!" Manny exclaimed when she found her voice, frozen in her place. "Oh God, Darcy -- I'm so sorry."

Darcy suddenly dropped her hand though, and Manny felt a surge of relief flood her as she saw that her eyeball, was in fact, still in place. There was a small scratch under Darcy's eye though, from where the hook had sliced her skin, and blood was slowly trickling out of it. Darcy touched it gingerly, before her shoulders sagged with her outtake of air. She glanced at Manny, and gave a grin of sorts.

"Why are you crying?" She asked playfully, sniffling back her tears. "I'm the one who got hurt."

Manny shakily walked towards the other girl, able to feel her legs quivering with each step. "Darcy," she said again, grabbing the taller girl's shoulders -- almost as if she couldn't believe she was standing there okay. "I'm so _so_ sorry -- are you okay?"

Darcy gingerly touched the scratch again as blood continued to slide down her cheek, but she nodded. "I'm fine," she said. "Just scared me more than anything."

"We need to get to the nurse," Manny said, grabbing one of her arms. "Right now," She started to pull her away.

Darcy looked behind them. "But the rod," she started to say.

"Let Loraine get it herself," Manny said reaching up to wipe her own tears away.

She didn't know how Darcy did it, but she was glad that the other girl was so forgiving. Guilt didn't begin to describe what Manny felt, but it was a little better knowing that Darcy was still her friend -- it meant she had time to make it up to her.

---------------------------------------------

"There we go."

Darcy was holding her breath as Echo Ridge's elderly nurse placed a good-sized band-aid on the now cleaned scratch under her eye. When the girls had arrived at the nurse's cabin earlier, Manny had been close to hysterics herself -- the only reason she'd stopped repeatedly apologizing to Darcy was because the nurse had asked her to sit outside.

"I have to say, Darcy," the nurse started, "You got really lucky -- that could've easily been your eye." At Darcy's nod, she continued, "Fortunately -- it's a rather shallow wound, and it'll heal in no time. It shouldn't scar, but if it does it will be unnoticeable. Now try not to touch it for a while, okay?"

Darcy nodded again, climbing down from the stool she'd been sitting in. "Thank you," she said, on her way to the door.

The nurse waved at her, giving her a grandmotherly smile, and Darcy stepped outside onto the porch of the cabin. Manny was sitting on the steps a few feet away, and she turned when she heard the door shut. Darcy smiled, nearing her.

"Still crying?" She asked lightly, sitting down beside the other girl.

Manny made a short noise in her throat, shaking her head and wiping her face. "No," she said. "I mean...maybe. I just feel so bad."

Darcy grinned and shook her head. "Don't worry about it, _really_," she said. "The nurse said it'll heal real soon -- and it won't even scar."

Manny sighed, and Darcy studied her for a moment. Right after she'd been scratched, and she'd looked up to see Manny crying, she'd almost been too surprised to even register the pain she was in. It was baffling that Manny would've been crying at all -- Blair and Chante would've been concerned, yes, but they wouldn't have shed a tear. It made funny feelings rise in Darcy's stomach, knots and butterflies, and it made her feel strangely awkward, if not a little embarrassed. She couldn't imagine why someone she'd only known for a week would care about her so much.

She reached over and set her hand on Manny's arm, getting the other girl to look at her.

"I forgive you, Manny," she said. "It's not like I'm dying from it or anything. Accidents happen, you know?"

Manny gave a small smile, taking a deep breath. "You aren't even mad at me?" She asked.

Darcy cocked her head some in thought, and she gave a little grin. "Let me ask you," she said, "If it were the other way around, would _you_ be mad at _me_?"

Manny shook her head quickly, "No," she answered.

"Exactly," Darcy said. She gave Manny's arm a squeeze, before reaching up to playfully push the other girl. "It's okay. Man, I didn't know you were such a worrywart."

Manny laughed and reached over to push her back. "I am not," she said. "I just...for a moment I thought you'd lost your eye. That would've been devastating -- I was scared."

Darcy shrugged. "Ah," she said, "What's it matter? If I'd lost my eye, people would've stopped calling me Jesus-Freak, and started calling me Cyclops."

"And that's a _good_ thing?" Manny asked, incredulous.

Darcy grinned. "I'd be named after an X-Man."

Manny rolled her eyes, before she started laughing. "My brother's favorite one to be exact," she said.

The two fell silent, looking out towards the rest of the camp. The nurse's cabin was located close to the mess hall -- it was almost directly in front of them, and beside them was Geena's cabin/office, where in front of that was the road leading out of there.

"Well," Darcy said suddenly, "At least we got out of fishing."

Manny rolled her eyes again, but she was smiling. "I have to say it again," she said, "I'm sorry."

Darcy passed her a smile, but she suddenly realized that she still had her hand resting on Manny's arm. Swallowing, she awkwardly removed it, and crossed her arms over her chest. Why did she always feel so weird when she or Manny touched? She couldn't understand what was wrong with her.

---------------------------------------------

Despite the fact that the windows of Darcy's cabin were shut, the sound of crickets chirping could still be heard, as she laid in her bed -- it was really a cot of sorts, though it _was_ more comfortable than you'd think -- reading. Her bunkmates were both currently on Chante's bed, flicking through the yearbook that Blair had brought with her -- Chante was currently in the process of pointing out all of the boys she thought were cute. It seemed to be the only thing Chante thought about, really.

"Oh, Darcy," Chante said suddenly, "You'd like this one."

Darcy glanced up from her book, quirking a brow. "You've said that about eight times," she said, "And the six times I got up to look, I _didn't_ like them."

Blair laughed, but Chante stood up rolling her eyes. Holding the yearbook open, she walked to Darcy's bed, and sat down on it, showing her. Darcy glanced at the boy she was pointing to -- blonde, no doubt a preppy guy -- he _was_ kind of cute.

"Well?" Chante asked, "I see that look on your face -- he's cute, right?"

Darcy smirked, and she nodded. "Yeah, sure, whatever," she said. "There is more to life than boys, you know?"

Chante rolled her eyes, but before she walked away, she gestured at the band-aid on Darcy's face. "Does it still hurt?" She asked.

Darcy almost reached up to touch where she'd been scratched, but remembering the nurse's words, she dropped her hand. She lifted a shoulder in a shrug.

"Kind of," she said. "It really only hurts when I do this --" She scrunched up her nose, squinting her eyes.

Blair almost fell out of her bed she was laughing so hard, and Chante grinned. After a second though, Chante suddenly looked a little serious.

"So you and the new girl," she said, "You've been spending most of your time with her."

"Well, she is my friend, Chante," Darcy said. "I spend a lot of time with you guys too."

"Yeah, but that's different," Chante said. "I mean -- she doesn't seem like a good friend. Getting you into trouble with Geena, getting your face mauled by a fishhook --"

"It's a frickin' _scratch_," Darcy said. "It's not like she ripped my nose off or anything."

Chante shrugged her shoulders. "I just think she's bad news is all."

Darcy studied her for a moment, before setting her book down. "It's because she had an abortion, isn't it?" She asked. "That's why you don't like her -- because you feel as if you're above her."

"That's not it --" Chante started in a bored tone.

"Oh please," Darcy said. "To be quite honest, Chante, I know some things about you that you wouldn't want spread all over the camp -- things that people would compare you to Manny for."

Chante visibly swallowed, but said nothing more, turning to walk away. Blair was seated silently on her cot, looking between the two and saying nothing. Darcy sighed and shook her head, before setting her book on her small bedside table, and getting comfortable in the bed. The other girls wouldn't turn the light out until they absolutely had to, but Darcy was used to falling asleep with it on.

What she wasn't used to were the feelings she got when she thought about Manny.


	4. Chapter Four

**Author's Note**: In my opinion, this chapter is the worst so far. I want to blame it on the fact that I've been in a bit of a slump for a few days but I won't. Anyway, I'm trying to make the girls' reactions and feelings as realistic as possible -- me and one of my ex-girlfriends kind of went through something like this before we got together, and really, I just hope the readers find it believable. I'm gonna shut up now though. :P Thanks for reviewing -- it means so much to me.

---------------------------------------------  
**Bells For Her**  
---------------------------------------------  
_"Is it right or is it wrong?  
Does it matter what's right in the heat of the night?"  
-- Pat Benatar, "In the Heat of the Night"_

**Four.  
-**

Saturday was the day Manny had been looking forward to -- not because there was going to be story and/or song time around a fire later on that night, but because she was free to sleep in. Activities still went on during the weekends, but it wasn't necessary for girls to participate -- they were pretty much given free run of the entire camp grounds as long as they didn't break any rules. The night before, Manny had heard a few girls talking about going swimming in the lake, but Manny had already been thinking about how lovely it would be to lay in bed all day.

She woke up on her own around eight though, despite the fact that she was still tired. Yawning, she stretched and rolled onto her back, gaze finding the scrawled words that had been written on the ceiling in permanent marker. She didn't know what girl had had her room before her, and she didn't know how said girl had gotten up that high to write a message -- but she did know what, 'Get out of here while you still can' meant. It made her laugh every time she saw it -- you'd think Echo Ridge was a prison of sorts. Then again, she supposed it could be for some people.

She threw an arm over her eyes to block out the sunlight pouring through the window beside her bed, and she tried to go back to sleep. She'd been having a really nice dream, though she couldn't remember what it'd been about. A tiny voice in the back of her head had started to tell her it'd been about Darcy, but Manny had tuned it out before it could finish.

She liked Darcy, yes, that was a fact. But she'd never really had reason to think she was bisexual. Then again no girl had ever made her feel the way Darcy did. She knew she liked boys -- no doubt about it. And though there was still a faint 'maybe' in the back of her head, she decided she'd ignore it. She'd stop trying to think about these confusing matters and just let things happen -- it was just easier that way.

She was just starting to doze off when there was a soft knocking at her door. She made a little noise in the back of her throat, contemplating ignoring it. But as the seconds wore on, she started to feel a little guilty, and she quickly climbed to her feet.

Darcy was standing outside in a pair of jean shorts and a yellow bikini top, a bag slung over her shoulder with what seemed to be a towel poking out the top of it. Her hair was in a messy ponytail, many strands hanging loose and curling around her smiling face. For a moment, Manny was slightly speechless -- the way the light was playing on Darcy's skin almost made her look like she was glowing.

"Hi," Darcy said. Her gaze moved briefly over Manny, taking in her pajama pants and tank top. She suddenly looked embarrassed, "Did I wake you?"

Manny quickly shook her head, reaching up to pat at her own hair -- she could feel that it was sticking up in the back and she hoped it wasn't visible to Darcy. "No," she said, "No I was already awake -- just laying down."

Darcy nodded, but had lowered her gaze to the ground. "Well," she said, smiling again, "I was heading down to the lake for a swim -- I decided to see if you wanted to go with me."

"Sure," Manny answered, too quickly she thought. She flushed, "I mean, that sounds fun. Give me one second?"

Darcy's smile seemed to grow, and she nodded, before stepping back some. Manny shut the door slowly, before launching into hyper drive. She ran to her bag of clothes, which she still had yet to go through since she'd brought it, and she started digging through it, knowing she'd brought her bathing suit. She'd originally brought it for the sole purpose of using it when she showered -- she hadn't known if their would be actual stalls or one big shower-room.

She finally found it, rolled up and wrinkled in the bottom of her bag. In seconds, she was pulling on a pair of shorts and a tank top over her black and white polka dotted bikini, as well as running a brush through her hair. She quickly styled it into a sloppy bun and slipped on her shoes. When she stepped outside with her own bag -- holding her towel, sunglasses and sunscreen of course -- she was almost panting from the rush, and Darcy glanced at her.

"Sorry I took so long," Manny said, shifting her own bag on her shoulder.

"That actually wasn't long at all," Darcy said. "Maybe I should start calling you Speed Racer or something."

Manny grinned sheepishly, flushing just slightly, and the two of them started away from the cabin. Darcy glanced over her shoulder at it, before pointing back with a thumb.

"Is it just you in there?" She asked.

Manny nodded. "Yeah," she answered, "When I got here, there were no vacancies left, so they just gave me one by myself." She then quickly added, "Not that I mind or anything -- I love it."

Darcy nodded, looking as if she were deep in thought for a moment. "Yeah," she agreed.

"So what's this campfire thing I've been told about?" Manny asked, attempting to change the subject. "Clichéd scary stories? Singing 'Kumbaya' maybe?"

Darcy laughed, nodding. "Believe it or not," she answered. "Just like the movies." She shrugged her shoulders. "It's not really that bad though -- it's actually kind of relaxing." She lowered her voice some, leaning closer to Manny, "And the girls here are so unimaginative that the stories are never too scary."

Manny laughed, but she couldn't have told you what Darcy had said, because at the moment that Darcy had leaned closer to her, her breath had tickled Manny's cheek and Manny had felt as if she'd been doused in freezing water. Thankfully though, Darcy didn't notice the effect she had on the smaller girl, and in minutes they were nearing the end of the trail that led to the lake.

Loraine was accompanied by two more counselors that day, the three of them sitting by themselves in lawn chairs that they'd brought, sporting sunglasses. They were the day's lifeguards, watching the many girls who'd decided to spend their day at the lake. As Darcy led Manny to a patch of grass in the sun that wasn't occupied, she waved to a few other girls, making Manny feel just a little self-conscious. She'd been there a week and had one friend to count for it. Then again, Darcy was different -- having a friend like Darcy could feel like having fifty friends.

Manny followed Darcy's lead, pulling her towel out and spreading it on the grass. As Darcy started to pull her shorts off, Manny found that she couldn't help but watch. She tried to tell herself that she was just admiring the bathing suit -- it _was_ a really cute bikini when she thought about it: yellow with light orange trim, plain yet cheerful-looking. But then Manny's eyes settled on the dusting of freckles on Darcy's thighs -- there were a little on the tops of her shoulders too -- and she cursed herself.

She turned her back on Darcy, flushing deeply, and she shook her head to herself, starting to pull off her own clothes. As she was shoving them into her bag, she heard Darcy make a gasp-like noise.

"I _love_ your bathing suit," she said.

Manny glanced over her shoulder to find Darcy now lounging on her towel, elbows back and propping herself up, smile on her face. A strange heat settled in Manny's stomach, but she pushed it away, grinning.

"Thanks," she said, sitting on her own towel, Indian-style. She glanced down at it, shrugging. "I think it's a little too busy for me though," she said, "I need to get one like yours."

"If I wasn't afraid mine was just a little too big," Darcy said, "I'd say we could trade."

The two of them shared a laugh, and as Darcy turned to dig around in her bag, Manny sighed silently. The idea of wearing something that was Darcy's made her feel weird, despite the fact that she'd worn her other friends' clothes before with no problem. Heck, she and Emma used to swap clothes all the time when they could.

Again, pushing away these weird thoughts and feelings, she pulled out her sunscreen -- only the best, the kind that also repels bugs -- and she started to put it on. Darcy was humming to herself as she did the same thing, and Manny recognized the song, an old disco-sounding thing that her parents liked to listen to. She couldn't help but hum along, earning a big grin from Darcy and another flutter in her stomach.

It was going to be a long day.

---------------------------------------------

Darcy sprayed her right leg with the bug repellent, while simultaneously slapping a mosquito on her left leg. The sun was still in the process of setting over Camp Echo Ridge, turning the sky beautiful shades of pink and purple, and Loraine and Jonathan had just started setting up for the campfire on the shore of the lake. Girls had immediately jumped up to help Jonathan, and Darcy shook her head as she watched them.

She was currently seated on a tree stump, shorts and tee shirt over top of a still wet bathing suit, and Manny had disappeared off to the bathroom. The day had been one of her more fun ones -- probably because she'd never really known someone like Manny. She couldn't explain how she was different from other girls, but she just was -- she almost had an air of innocence to her, despite what'd she'd done in the past.

The two of them had spent a little time sunbathing, before Manny had suddenly jumped up and challenged her to a race to the lake. Needless to say, the two had gone blundering into the water like a couple of bears looking for fish, earning laughs and amused looks from other girls. Gretchen had made her way over to introduce herself to Manny, and the three of them soon had a small splash fight between them. Then more sunbathing to dry off, before Gretchen had to come and push them back into the water -- only, Manny had been smart, and she'd grabbed Gretchen's arm to pull the other girl with them.

Darcy was, of course, glad that at least one of her friends could 'approve' of Manny, even if Gretchen was now hanging out with Chante and Blair across from Darcy, on the other side of the building fire. They'd avoided Darcy and Manny all day like the plague, but Darcy couldn't find it in her to care.

At least not at that moment, because Manny had returned. The smaller girl had put her shorts on as well, and she came over to Darcy, pulling her own shirt over her head. She dropped her damp towel on the ground beside the stump, and dropped onto it with a sigh, smiling at Darcy, who returned it immediately.

Suddenly though, Manny gestured across the fire. "Aren't they your friends?" She asked.

Darcy pressed her lips together to keep from saying anything rude about Chante, and she nodded. "Yeah," she answered quietly.

Manny glanced at her, before back at them and she looked down at her lap. "I'm sorry," she said.

"For what?" Darcy asked, brow furrowing.

"Well, they'd probably be over here with you if it weren't for me," Manny said, with a small shrug.

Darcy rolled her eyes and before she could stop herself, placed a hand on one of Manny's shoulders. "Forget them," she said. "You're worth ten of them, and don't forget it."

Manny glanced up at her. "You really think so?" She asked.

Darcy grinned, playfully pushing her. She quickly reclaimed her hand though, not liking the feeling it gave her when she touched Manny. "I know so," she said. "If they want me to choose between them and you, I'll definitely choose you."

Smiling, Manny looked down again, and Darcy sighed. She'd spent the whole day with Manny, but was only now realizing something. It was getting harder and harder to be around the other girl, and she refused to think about why that might be. One side of her brain was suggesting that she had a crush on Manny-- but that was just silly. Preposterous even; it made her want to laugh. Maybe if Manny were a boy -- a boy who smelled like coconut and honey, with soft hair and softer skin -- then Darcy would have a crush on her...him.

It made her want to scream -- it was frustrating, it was irritating, and it was outright confusing.

"Alright girls," Jonathan's voice broke into her thoughts, and all of the girls around the now crackling fire looked up at him. He was standing beside it, shadows dancing over his features and making him look even scarier than Darcy thought he normally did. "Want me to tell the first one?"

Of course, the girls agreed with him. Darcy rolled her eyes and leaned down a little to whisper to Manny.

"He tells stories more third grade than R.L. Stine," she said.

Manny started to laugh, but then she whispered back, "I have to admit -- I still like Stine's books."

Darcy grinned. "I won't tell anyone."

Jonathan's newest story was perhaps the worst one that Darcy had ever heard -- something lame about ghosts at a camp. But most of the girls were eating it up, of course, their dear Jonathan was telling it. Manny yawned a few times, as Darcy saw out of the corner of her eye, and this made her smile -- at least someone could share in her cynicism about Jonathan.

But then something happened that made Darcy frown.

Manny's head dropped slowly sideways until it was resting on Darcy's knee, and Darcy felt like she'd been kicked in the gut by a baby donkey or something. She froze up, but Manny didn't seem to notice -- she seemed to be half-asleep anyway. Her hair, which was no longer in a ponytail, brushed across Darcy's skin, tickling her and making her stomach knot up.

Jonathan continued his story, and his fanclub all jumped when they were supposed to, laughed in all the right places, but Darcy suddenly felt as if she were sitting inside of an oven or something. The feelings that came from just this simple action from Manny weren't supposed to be there, they weren't supposed to come from something so trivial. If it'd been Emma or even Gretchen to do what Manny was doing, Darcy knew she wouldn't feel that way.

Without thinking, she shifted uncomfortably, and suddenly Manny sat up again. She flashed Darcy a little smile, quickly apologizing, and she went back to watching the fire with sleepy eyes. Darcy quickly told her it was no problem, and mentally thanked her luck that it was finally dark enough out that no one could see her blushing.

A part of her was relieved that Manny had sat up again, but another part was kind of missing the feeling. What was she getting herself into by being friends with her?

---------------------------------------------

Manny sighed as she turned off the shower head, reaching up to squeeze the water from her hair. Darcy had been acting weird the rest of the night, ever since...

"Shit," Manny cursed herself, suddenly realizing something. Darcy had been acting weird ever since Manny had accidentally attempted to sleep on the other girl. "Shit," she repeated.

She started to curse herself inwardly as she reached for her towel on the peg behind her. The way the stalls were set up was kind of cool actually -- they were large enough for there to be a towel hanging in the corner, and it wouldn't get the least bit wet -- she wished her shower at home was that big. She also wished she hadn't been such an idiot at the campfire.

Darcy probably was now questioning their friendship, all because Manny had been lazy and had dropped her head on Darcy's knee. She hadn't meant anything by it, honestly, but Darcy now probably thought she was some sort of lesbian.

"Who's to say I'm not though?" Manny asked herself aloud, toweling her hair. The showers were practically empty, as she'd gotten there a little later than the other girls -- she could hear someone down at the other end of it, but she didn't really care who it was.

Maybe she _did _like Darcy, maybe she _was_ bisexual. She'd once read a quote from someone who thought that everybody was born bisexual, but most are just brought up to think that same-sex couples are wrong, and eventually they learn to pretty much suppress their feelings. Well, the quote had _basically_ said that. Manny was still unsure of whether or not she believed it, but she supposed it could make sense in the long run.

She sighed again as she reached out of the stall for her bag -- a lot of girls would come out of their stalls to get dressed, but she was still a little uncomfortable with that, and she preferred to get dressed in the stall.

She felt her stomach drop slightly though as her hand searched blindly through her bag -- the only things she could find in there were her hairbrush, her sunscreen, some body lotion, a pair of socks, and her toothbrush. She quickly pulled the bag off of the hook it hung on, and brought it into the stall with her to look through it.

Someone had taken her clothes.

Trying not to get too upset, she rehung her bag outside the stall, and wrapped the towel around her body. She stepped out of it, slipping her flip-flops on -- at least the bullies had left her those -- and she started towards the other room where she'd heard someone. When she entered it, she found Darcy at one of the sinks, she too wrapped in a towel, and brushing her teeth. She was humming that disco song again, and didn't notice as Manny entered.

Manny hesitated very briefly, gaze taking in Darcy. There was a small mole on the back of one of her thighs, something which Manny mindlessly dubbed a beauty mark, before she realized what she was doing. She shook her head, raising her gaze so that she stared at the back of Darcy's head, and she tried to appear casual.

"Hey," she said.

Darcy glanced at her in the mirror, smiling around her toothbrush. "Hi," she said, muffled.

Manny shifted on her feet, fingers picking at the bottom of the towel she wore, and she shrugged her shoulders. "You didn't...happen to see someone walking away with some clothes, did you?"

She wanted to kick herself -- no, she wanted to slam her head against the wall -- what a dumb question. She half-expected Darcy to laugh at her, but instead, the taller girl spit out her mouthful of toothpaste, and spun to her.

"Someone took your clothes?" She demanded, and even from her distance, Manny could see a sort of fire in her eyes.

Manny nodded quickly, looking down again. "I suppose it was just a trick to play on the new girl," she said, "And I really...I don't care, you know. But I don't want to walk back to my cabin like this."

Darcy looked incredulous. She turned the sink off and neared Manny, wielding her toothbrush like a weapon of sorts. "_I_ care," she said, "You wait until I find out who did this." Her eyes were flashing, but then her features softened when she looked Manny up and down. "Yeah," she said, "You can't walk back to your cabin in just a towel -- it's probably the farthest away out of all of them."

Manny nodded, and suddenly Darcy was giving her a half-smile.

"You can wear my clothes," she said, "I'll get them from you some other time."

"No," Manny said quickly, shaking her head. "No way -- what would you wear?"

Darcy shrugged. "My cabin is like, right outside," she said, "I wouldn't have a problem walking there in just a towel."

"Darcy, I can't."

Well apparently, Darcy was very stubborn when it came to getting what she wanted. In moments, Manny was wearing the taller girl's pajamas, and Darcy was still in her towel.

"I'll get them tomorrow or something," Darcy said shrugging. "It's no big deal, really."

Manny nodded, pulling out her own toothbrush, and Darcy heaved her bag over her shoulder. She gave Manny a little smile as she started backing away towards the door, and she waved slightly.

"I'll see you tomorrow," she said cheerily, seemingly not bothered about having to leave in nothing but a towel.

Manny nodded again. "Thanks Darcy," she said, "I don't know what I'd do without you."

Darcy smiled again, this time wider, and disappeared outside. Manny turned to the mirror above the sink she was at and sighed, shaking her head. Someone suddenly scoffed behind her, and she spun to see a girl she didn't know walking to one of the sinks. She could vaguely remember seeing her in the mess hall, but there was no way she could've put a name to her.

"Unbelievable," she said quietly.

"What?" Manny asked.

The girl gave her a smile -- it looked like it pained her to do so -- and she leaned towards Manny slightly. "You're so naïve -- let me tell you something about Darcy Edwards..."


	5. Chapter Five

**Author's Note**: The chapters might start to get shorter, for which I apologize. I also apologize for how choppy this chapter is -- I'm trying to move things along faster so that the story doesn't drag. :P

---------------------------------------------  
**Bells For Her**  
---------------------------------------------  
_"Tick tack toe, you're fitting into place.  
And now the old ways don't seem true."  
-- PSAPP, "Cosy in the Rocket"_

**Five.  
-**

Darcy stepped into the breakfast line, still rubbing the sleep from her eyes. She'd had trouble falling asleep the night before, though she didn't know why -- Chante and Blair hadn't even had the light on. With a small sigh, she leaned forward to grab a small bottle of fruit juice, and felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned slightly to find one of Chante's friends -- Darcy thought her name was Becky, but she couldn't be sure.

"Uh, yeah?" Darcy asked as she straightened.

"What's with you helping the new girl out?" Becky asked.

Darcy's brow furrowed, and then her eyes narrowed. "Last night, you mean?" She asked. "You were the one who stole her clothes?"

Becky gave a little grin. "We were gonna get a picture of her when she left the showers in her towel," she said, "Give it to her as a little welcome gift, you could say."

"Why?" Darcy demanded, unaware of the way her grip had tightened on her bottle -- her knuckles were just on the verge of turning white.

"Why?" Becky repeated, "Darcy -- you have to learn something. Girls like that? They aren't the right kind to be making friends with."

"Why don't you tell me something else, then?" Darcy asked. "What is it that you and everyone else has against her?"

Becky gave a snort-type noise, shrugging her shoulders, and Darcy realized that the only thing people had against Manny was her being new. There were countless other girls there who'd just started coming to Echo Ridge, but Manny had come after the first day -- kind of like when a kid has to start a new school halfway through the year. And not only had she come late, but she had a past that some stupid counselor had carelessly blabbed about in hearing distance of the other girls.

Darcy had never realized how cruel the girls at Echo Ridge could be -- sure, there were the ones like Sasquatch in the shower-room, but other than that, they usually were cool. She sighed deeply, breathing through her nose, and tried to unclench her fists.

"You're pathetic," she said in a low tone, watching as Becky's smug look turned to one of surprise. "It's sad that you have to make fun of someone else -- who's a hundred times better than you, might I add? -- just so you can feel better about your own life."

"Oh me?" Becky started, "I'm pathetic --"

"You're worse than pathetic," Darcy interrupted. "Lower than low."

"You're making a mistake," Becky said in what Darcy assumed was supposed to be a menacing voice.

"Am I?" Darcy asked. "What are you gonna do about it? Steal _my_ clothes?"

Becky looked as if she were going to do something much worse than steal some clothes, but a voice suddenly broke into their bubble of agression.

"Okay girls, what's going on?"

One of the younger counselors, Jaime, had appeared, hands on her hips and pigtails looking symmetrical and perfect, as always. Darcy shook her head.

"Nothing," she mumbled, before turning on her heel and walking away.

Plenty of things in life made Darcy Edwards angry -- furious even -- but for some reason, nothing had ever made her more angry than the girls at Echo Ridge camp. This was definitely going to be her last year coming here, and if it weren't for Manny, she would probably try and fake a serious injury so that she could get sent home early.

She reached the table where Manny was sitting, and threw herself into the chair across from the other girl. She slammed her juice on the table, almost causing the lid to squeeze off of it, and she crossed her arms over her chest, giving her head a toss to get her hair out of her face.

"Man, I'm really learning what it is to actually _hate_ someone," she said. "Usually I don't like that word, but _seriously_."

She suddenly caught sight of Manny's expression, and her anger ebbed away, quickly replaced by concern. Manny looked as small and confused as she had on the day they'd first met -- sad even. Darcy instantly forgot about Becky and leaned slightly across the table.

"Manny, what's wrong?" She asked.

"You don't have to pretend anymore, Darcy," the smaller girl said quietly.

"_What_?" Darcy asked, "What are you talking about?"

"Look, it's okay," Manny said, and Darcy noticed that she wouldn't meet her eyes. "I understand why you did it -- but I'd rather you not continue."

"Manny..." Darcy couldn't even find a single word to express her confusion, and she stared blankly at the other girl, blinking stupidly. "What...?"

Manny looked up, but her gaze didn't meet Darcy's -- it was fixed on something over Darcy's shoulder, and after a second, she started to stand up.

"I'm better off alone than with someone who's only pretending to be my friend," she said.

Darcy stared -- _gaped_ even -- at Manny's retreating back, only able to watch as the other girl all but ran from the mess hall. Swallowing, Darcy's brow furrowed. She turned slightly in her seat, eyes searching the hall, and they landed on a girl a few tables away. She was a redhead, and evil-looking to boot. She'd been turned in her chair, watching the exchange, but as Darcy caught sight of her, the redhead turned back to her table.

Darcy's eyes narrowed again, and she stood up, almost knocking the chair over. Forgetting her drink, she stormed across the mess hall, ignoring the curious looks she got, and only stopping when she'd reached the redhead. She tapped her on the shoulder, before crossing her arms and waiting.

"You told her something, didn't you?" She demanded when the other girl turned.

That side of the hall had grown silent, but Darcy didn't even seem to notice. The redhead looked around, before shrugging her shoulders.

"What?" She asked, not even able to feign innocence. It didn't help that there was a small smirk on her face.

"What was it?" Darcy asked, "What did you say?"

"I only told her what she would've found out on her own," was the answer. "I mean, come on. Little Miss Righteous Jesus-Freak friends with Little Miss Baby-Killer? As if that would ever happen. I told her you pitied her, of course. Anyone could see that."

"You told her I was only her friend because I felt bad for her?" Darcy asked.

The redhead's smile seemed to grow, but she didn't answer, and Darcy could feel something boiling over in her stomach. Half of the mess hall had all turned to watch this discussion, and Darcy was finding it harder and harder to control her breathing. She swallowed heavily, fingernails digging so hard into her palms that she would've winced under other circumstances.

"You know what I've learned today?" She asked the redhead.

The girl cocked her head, waiting for the answer, and Darcy took a deep breath.

"That each girl here," Darcy said, "Is just as squalid as the next."

One of her hands flew through the air, palm colliding with the redhead's cheek. The sound was the loudest thing anybody had ever heard for a second, and when Darcy pulled her hand back, it was stinging as if she'd burned it on something. A handprint was already forming on the stunned redhead's cheek, and despite how upset Darcy was, she could still feel a little satisfied.

Letting out a sharp breath, she turned and started for the door, pushing herself through the staring girls. The only counselor who'd been around had been Jaime, but she'd been too busy with something else to see the slap, and was now questioning everyone as to what was going on. Darcy had to shake her head to herself -- she couldn't believe she'd been spending so many years coming to this camp.

---------------------------------------------

Manny sat on the steps of her cabin, staring up at the sky -- it was weird today, not exactly blue, and not exactly gray -- more white. She hadn't been planning on saying anything to Darcy really, but it'd just come out of her unexpectedly. It all made sense though, when she thought about it. Why else would someone as nice and kind as Darcy be friends with her.

_And pretty_, a voice piped up in the back of her mind.

She cursed under her breath, dropping her head and wrapping her arms around her legs. She felt worse than she had on her first day at Echo Ridge -- worse than when she had to return to school after her...incident. She just wanted to go home. Go home and forget that any of this had ever happened.

"Manny?"

She looked up to see Darcy standing a few feet away from her, looking out of breath as if she'd run there. She was holding her arms out at her sides like Manny was some sort of animal she was worried about scaring away.

"You can't listen to people like that," Darcy said, slowly nearing her. "That...that..._bitch_ back there is just trying to hurt us."

It surprised the both of them that Darcy had cursed like that, and as Manny's eyes widened just slightly, Darcy flushed, still taking small steps towards her.

"It's taken me four years to learn how bad these people are," Darcy said, and she sat tentatively beside Manny who hadn't moved yet. "Manny, I like you -- I want to be your friend because I think you're a good person. I wish we lived right next door to each other, and we went to the same school."

Manny sighed, and looked down. "Me too," she said slowly. "But there's a reason why we shouldn't be friends -- a real reason, and not just something some evil megabitch said."

Darcy's brow furrowed, and she waited for Manny to continue. Manny took a small breath, and shrugged slightly, as if she were trying to be nonchalant.

"Darcy," she said, "This is the most confusing thing I've ever been through, but I _like_ you -- more than a friend."

"What?" Darcy asked, utterly bewildered.

Manny sighed lightly, and she acted on impulse. She leaned over and pressed her lips to Darcy's, a small peck that was so quick that the butterflies in her stomach didn't even have time to stir -- it was the only way Darcy would understand, she knew.

She sat back, looking down at her legs, and she waited for it -- waited for Darcy to tell her how sick she was, tell her what a freak she was.

Instead, all Darcy said was, "Uh..." Then she stood up stiffly, and walked away.

Manny watched her go, before swallowing the lump in her throat and nodding. "Well," she said to herself, "That was better than expected at least."


	6. Chapter Six

**Author's Note**: I don't think watching Pink Floyd's "The Wall" is going to help me with this story, so I've forced myself to turn it off. :P Thank you guys so much for all of your kind words.

---------------------------------------------  
**Bells For Her**  
---------------------------------------------  
_"Wish I could recklessly love like I'm longing to --  
run with the wild horses."  
-- Natasha Bedingfield, "Wild Horses"_

**Six.  
-**

Darcy had skipped lunch, and she'd been planning on skipping dinner too -- she just couldn't wrap her head around what'd happened earlier. She couldn't stop replaying it in her mind either, watching it over and over like it were a movie that she kept rewinding. Manny had _kissed_ her -- it might've been different if Manny had just told her she liked her and left it alone, let them forget. But she'd actually made mouth-to-mouth contact. And Darcy knew she should've been repulsed, she _wanted_ to be repulsed, but she honestly couldn't find it in her to be. She liked Manny too much as a friend, and even though a part of her never wanted to see the other girl again, there was a side that did. And that side seemed to be stronger.

Not to mention she could feel her empty stomach growling as she laid on her bed that night. She absentmindedly set her hand on it, giving a little sigh. She couldn't exactly skip every meal for the rest of her Echo Ridge days, now could she?

She sat up and leaned over the side of her bed, reaching for her flip-flops. Maybe she could just pretend that it hadn't happened -- go sit with Manny like she normally did, and just talk about normal stuff. Would Manny mind? Would it be rude of Darcy?

As she entered the mess hall, a few girls pointed her out, each saying something to one another about how she'd slapped someone earleir that day. For the most part though, the girls had already seemed to forget -- that, or there was better and much more juicy gossip to care about. Stepping into line, Darcy ignored the look that Chante was giving her.

It was weird how much Chante and Blair had changed since Darcy's friendship with Manny had bloomed. The other two seemed to seriously have something against Manny, as did many people apparently, and they'd started leaving Darcy out of things, pretending she wasn't around. Gretchen was still cool with her however -- Gretchen even seemed to like Manny, though the three of them never really hung out together too often.

When she'd grabbed a tray of food -- she'd chosen spaghetti, it was surprisingly good, and it was one of those one-day-specials -- she turned around and searched the hall quickly. It wasn't hard to find Manny, seated alone of course, a tray in front of her though she was focused on a book instead of her food. Darcy took a deep breath, swallowing, and she quickly neared the smaller girl.

"Hi," she said, in a strangely steady voice, sitting down.

Manny started slightly, and quickly shut her book, moving it so that it was under the table and hidden from view. She smiled, but it was a puzzled sort of smile, and Darcy tried not to notice the way her eyes were red -- as if she'd been crying.

"Hi?"

"What're you reading?" Darcy asked, conversationally.

"Nothing," her answer was a little too quick, but she changed the subject. "Are you okay?"

"Fine," Darcy said, opening her bottle of water. "Why wouldn't I be?"

Manny studied her for a second or two, before looking around. She didn't say anything though, fortunately for Darcy, and she brought her hands from under the table to start eating. The book was still hidden though, obviously she was keeping it on her lap, and Darcy could not be more curious.

"Sorry for running off like that earlier," Darcy said quietly.

Manny nodded, shrugging one of her shoulders. "Yeah," she said slowly. "About that -- we need to talk."

"We do?" Darcy asked, almost slapping herself -- she sounded squeaky and weird, she hadn't realized how nervous she was feeling.

Manny almost smiled, and nodded again. "Not here though," she said, "Not with..._them_ hanging around, straining to hear our every word because they think they're missing something."

Darcy threw a quick glance around, as if expecting to see a group of girls around them. Of course, there were none, even though she knew that Manny was right. She nodded stiffly, keeping her gaze fixed on her food.

"I already got permission," Manny said, "And I was thinking maybe you could spend the night with me -- obviously there's room for you because I'm alone. And it'd be the best place to talk without the fear of someone hearing us."

Darcy knew she should say no -- just say no and tell Manny to forget it. Forget everything that'd happened that day, and just pretend they were normal friends again. She started to shake her head, but found it slowly turn into a nod.

"Okay," she said, as though possessed.

Manny smiled again, dimples showing through, and for a moment Darcy was practically transfixed on how pretty she was. She quickly cursed herself, and started eating -- the two didn't speak for the rest of dinner. Darcy was too busy with her thoughts, and Manny had opened her book in her lap, and had started reading again.

---------------------------------------------

Manny watched over the top of her magazine as Darcy made up one of the cots in her cabin -- surprisingly, to Manny, she'd chosen the one that was closest to her bed. At least that proved that Darcy wasn't completely disgusted with her. A permanent knot had formed in the pit of Manny's stomach, and she was trying to breathe in a deep and controlled manner -- maybe it'd been a bad idea to invite Darcy over.

Darcy gave a small sigh, as if she were exhausted from making the bed, and she sat down on it. She folded her legs underneath of her, and looked around the cabin. When her gaze had completely swept over everything _but_ Manny, she finally looked at her.

"So," she said slowly, "What's...up?"

She made a face to herself, and Manny could almost laugh at this -- as if Darcy was asking herself what the heck she'd just said. The knot in her stomach constricted though, and she sat up some, closing the Cosmo magazine and tossing it to the floor.

"I...did something pretty drastic today," she said, and Darcy nodded, awkwardly averting her eyes. "I'm not sorry for doing it, but I _am_ sorry for how it made you feel."

"What?" Darcy asked.

"Oh come on," Manny said, "It's made you a complete nervous wreck."

Darcy sighed, and shrugged her shoulders. "Well yeah, okay," she said, "That's only because I like you too, Manny, just not in that way. I'm not _gay_."

"Neither am I," Manny said quickly. "But I know that I...find myself attracted to you." She gave a little laugh of sorts. "I've never really thought about it, but I'm pretty sure I could be bisexual."

Darcy didn't say anything, but her cheeks had turned a deep red color, and she looked more uncomfortable that Manny would've liked. Manny cleared her throat, and reached under her pillow for the book she'd just finished earlier.

"A friend gave this to me," she said, "And it's really helpful." She stood up and neared the other bed. When she sat down beside Darcy, she half-expected the taller girl to get up or flinch away from her. She was happily surprised when it didn't happen. She held out the book. "It has lots of information, guidelines, resources..."

Darcy looked down at the book without taking it, and she read it allowed. "GLBTQ: The Survival Guide for Queer and Questioning Teens?" She quirked a brow. "What's GLBTQ stand for?"

"Gay Lesbian Bisexual Transgender Questioning," Manny recited.

Darcy still didn't take the book, and she shook her head, looking away. "Manny, I'm not gay, and I'm not bisexual," she said. "I like you, but not in that way."

"I still think you should read this," Manny insisted. "It'll help open your mind."

"My mind _is_ open," Darcy said, "But no, this is wrong. It's a sin -- God meant for it to be a man and a woman, not a woman and a woman, or a man and a man. It's wrong."

Manny opened her mouth to speak, but her words died in her throat as she found that Darcy had started to cry -- or at least, a tear was sliding down her cheek. She immediately felt bad, and she turned to set the book on the bed. She tentatively slipped an arm around Darcy's stiff shoulders.

"Darce, don't cry," she said, "Look, I'm sorry for bringing it up. I'm not as moral and...and devout as you, I didn't know you were so strong against it. And it's okay if, you know, you don't want to be friends with me anymore."

A very unattractive and wet-sounding snort issued from Darcy, and she shook her head. "Yeah right," she said, "I could never not want to be friends with you." She sniffled and wiped at her eyes, "And I'm not crying because I'm upset that you brought it up or anything -- I'm just so confused, Manny."

Manny rubbed the other girl's back softly, choosing not to say anything -- she didn't know what _to_ say. Instead, she nodded, and Darcy continued.

"I like boys, and that's the way it should be," she said, "I'm not supposed to have you in my every thought, and I'm not supposed to get butterflies and stupid collywobbles when you touch me."

Manny couldn't help but feel a small spurt of excitement at the fact that Darcy was admitting this, but she didn't know if it would actually amount to anything. She nodded again, taking a breath.

"I know what you mean," she said slowly. "But sins are forgiven, aren't they? When a person dies, they confess all of their sins in order for God to forgive them, right?"

Darcy gave a little dry laugh. "Basically, but not really," she said, "It's not that simple."

"The most important thing is whether or not you're happy, right?" Manny asked. "You should decide what'll make you happier in life, I guess."

"So what?" Darcy asked, "If I asked you to just forget all of this -- all of this about us liking each other -- you would?"

Manny swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat, and she attempted to nod. "Yes," she answered, not surprised when her voice cracked. "I'd try to at least, if you wanted me to."

Darcy studied her through tear-filled eyes for a moment, before nodding and looking down at her lap. She grabbed the book that Manny had set down, and flipped it over in her hands to read the back. Manny kept silent, watching as Darcy then flipped through it, pausing every now and then to read sidebars or headers. After a long moment -- what felt like hours to Manny -- she closed the book and looked up again.

"I'll read it," she said slowly, "And...we'll see what happens."

"Really?" Manny asked.

Darcy nodded, but then said, "I'm not going to make any promises, Manny," she said.

Manny was nodding so fast it felt like her head would just nod itself right off -- this was the best answer she could've hoped for, of course.

"I'll be here," she assured Darcy, "To help you through it and stuff -- it's a brand new world for me too."

Darcy smiled again, and it didn't look as forced as before. "We'll manage," she said, nodding.

Manny now had nothing else to do but hope for the best.


	7. Chapter Seven

**Author's Note**: Thank you _so_ so much to everyone reviewing. GLBTQ is a real book by Kelly Huegel, I forgot to say. Also, so everyone knows, if I don't update for a few days, it's because I'm having problems with my computer.

---------------------------------------------  
**Bells For Her  
**---------------------------------------------  
_"It's so frustrating --  
you're not the type I should be dating."  
-- Skye Sweetnam, "It Sucks"_

**Seven.  
-**

Darcy woke early the next morning, earlier than Manny, and as she lay in bed, she glanced over at the small table beside her. She'd set the GLBTQ book on it, and it was surprisingly the first thing on her mind. With a deep breath of sorts, she reached over and grabbed it, before sitting up and making herself more comfortable in the bed. She stared at the cover for a moment or two, lost in thought. What was she doing? Why on earth did she tell Manny she would read this?

As if afraid Manny would somehow hear her thoughts, Darcy glanced over at the other girl. She looked like she was about eight-years-old when she was sleeping, and Darcy hesitated for a moment. Then with a small nod, she forced herself to open the book.

_"Maybe you've known you're GLBTQ for years. Or maybe you're only now beginning to question your sexual orientation or gender identity. Either way, you are not alone. Researchers believe that between five and six percent of youth are gay, lesbian or bisexual."_

As she started reading, she couldn't help but get sucked into it. Each time she read the next sentence, one part of her mind was screaming about how wrong it was, and the other part was almost agreeing with the author. She was torn, because the words made sense, she understood them clearly, and soon found herself able to relate to some instances. But she knew she shouldn't have been reading that -- she shouldn't have been feeling the way she was.

"What time is it?"

She started, turning to Manny's bed to find the smaller girl half-sitting up, half-laying down, her hair sticking up, and eyes all but closed. Darcy couldn't help but smile at the sight, and she glanced at the clock.

"Almost time for you to get up," she answered.

Manny gave a little noise in the back of her throat, and dropped herself back down onto the thin mattress. She covered her face with her hands, rubbing lightly at her eyes, and Darcy watched her for a moment, before going back to her book.

"Wow," Manny said suddenly, sitting up and swinging her legs over the side of the bed. "You got pretty far."

Darcy glanced down at her book and was surprised to find that Manny was right. She'd almost made it halfway through. She nodded, marking her place with a piece of scrap paper, and setting the book aside. She gestured to it.

"Who gave it to you?" She asked, curiously.

Manny paused, before averting her gaze as she climbed to her feet. "Just a friend," she said. "She'd rather me not say."

Darcy studied the other girl for a second, but could only nod and accept this as an answer. The curiosity would probably kill her within the next few days, but she wouldn't try and pry it out of Manny.

---------------------------------------------

It was one of those rare occasions where Darcy and Manny were seated beside each other at their table in the mess hall, instead of across from one another. Darcy had sat down first, and though she wondered why Manny sat beside her, she didn't ask.

She knew something was going to happen when she saw Chante slowly making her way towards them, knew it deep in her gut. She felt a blush slowly rise to her cheeks before her former friend had even made it to the table, but Manny didn't seem to notice at first. When Chante stopped across from them, hands on her hips and unreadable smirk on her face, Darcy chanced looking up at her. Blair was standing behind her and off to the side, and she looked anxious -- perhaps even worried.

"Chante," Darcy said in a somewhat greeting.

Chante nodded slightly, before directing her gaze to Manny. She glared at her for a moment, before looking back to Darcy. "So you spent the night with her?" She asked.

"I slept in her cabin if that's what you mean," Darcy said -- her voice came out steadier than she felt, for which she was glad.

"You think we're blind?" Chante asked, and Darcy had to assume that 'we' meant her and Blair. "It's not like it's hard to see what's going on." Her smile suddenly changed to a more mean one, and she crossed her arms over her chest. "I would've thought you, of all people, would know that lesbianism is a sin. I don't think God'll let you into Heaven for that one, will he Darcy?"

Darcy shouldn't have been surprised by Chante's words -- Chante was always one who made comments about her religion. But for some reason, these words both stunned and stung her, and she could only gape at her for a moment, blinking.

Manny's chair made a scraping noise as she stood up, and Darcy looked up at her with almost the same puzzled expression as Chante. Manny's arms were straight at her sides, but her hands were clenched into fists. Upon her face was a cool expression, jaw set and lips a thin line.

"You would know all about that, wouldn't you?" Manny asked. "How many times have _you_ cried over it?"

Chante's eyes widened, before narrowing at Manny, and Darcy could swear she saw her nostrils flare. Darcy was almost surprised that Manny had said something like that, considering the fact that everyone knew Chante liked the boys, and she liked them _a lot_.

"What are you implying?" She asked.

"What?" Manny asked. "You don't want anyone to know? It's kind of sad that you're ashamed of who you are."

Darcy knew for a fact that Chante didn't swing that way, but all of the girls that had gathered around them whispered to each other. It was so easy to plant the seeds of rumors when girls were such gossip-hounds -- that whole day was going to be a day for the girls to discuss whether or not they thought Chante was, in fact, a lesbian.

Chante suddenly smirked again though. "You know," she said, "I can see you know how to talk tough, but I don't really think you're as comfortable as you like to think. A slut like you is probably _dying_ for a good bone right now. You're just so desperate to get some action that you're pretending to like girls."

Darcy didn't know how it happened -- one minute, the girls are staring at each other -- death glares, even -- and the next, Manny had reached across the table and grabbed two handfuls of Chante's hair. Before the other girl could even utter a surprised cry, Manny was all but pulling her over the table. Darcy jumped up, but not to help -- she was too shocked to do so. She could only back up some, eyes wide and mouth open, watching as Chante reached up to grab at Manny's hair.

The rest of the girls were a mess -- some were laughing, some were cheering, some were looking scared, as if Manny would break Chante's neck and then turn on them next. There were only two counselors doing breakfast duty that day, and they were still trying to push their way through the crowd of girls, who for some reason, wouldn't move for them. The adults were blowing their whistles like there was no tomorrow, calling on their walkie-talkies for more help.

Darcy saw her at almost the last minute -- the girl she'd coined Sasquatch in the shower-room. She'd broken away from the wall of on-lookers, and was making her way towards Manny with a sadistic look on her face. Darcy was about to lunge at her -- she didn't know how to fight, but she couldn't just sit back and watch it happen -- but someone did so before she could.

More excited chatter and cheering rose from the girls as Gretchen, Echo Ridge's apparent new resident hero, grabbed Sasquatch's shoulder, spun her around, and clocked her a good one right in the jaw. This was all she had time to do, before she was grabbed by the counselors who'd managed to break their way through. Manny and Chante were then separated, both of them red-faced and feral-looking, hair all a mess.

And then Darcy found the four of them being marched away, Manny still trying to reach around the counselor holding her and grab at Chante. As they were led from the mess hall, the girls that were standing around Darcy all slowly drifted away, leaving her next to the now abandoned table, still with a dropped jaw.

She didn't know what had been more surprising -- Manny's attack on Chante, or Gretchen coming in to save the day.

"Did that just happen?" She asked herself, before quickly making her way out of the hall.

---------------------------------------------

Manny left Geena's cabin, attempting to comb her fingers through her hair. She hadn't known what'd gotten into her during breakfast, but she just couldn't take the nerve of that girl. It wasn't so much that she'd called Manny a slut -- she'd grown to be able to ignore that word, as much as people seemed to like throwing it around at her -- but it was the fact that she'd been rude to Darcy, one of the nicest people that Manny had ever met.

She'd seen red, plain and simple. Something had snapped in her like a too-tight guitar string, and she hadn't been able to control herself.

She didn't even know why that tall bully and Gretchen had been dragged along -- not until Gretchen had explained what'd happened as they waited for Geena to talk to them. Apparently the tall one had been planning on attacking Manny from behind, and Gretchen had jumped in. Manny hadn't really considered her and Gretchen that good of friends, but a bubble of gratitude had swelled in her chest, and it'd made her feel so optimistic that she didn't even care what trouble she got into.

Turns out though, Chante had admitted to goading and poking fun at Manny. She even claimed that she'd started the fight, to which Manny had never been more surprised in her lifetime. And Geena had _fallen for it_, so now Manny was off the hook, in the clear -- no trouble at all. Not to mention, Geena had requested something that made Manny feel like she were on cloud nine.

She felt bad for Gretchen though, who got punished with the tall girl and Chante -- the three of them were to help set up the meals, as in bring out the trays of hot food for the line, and then clean up after every meal for a week. Geena had been furious, and Gretchen told Manny that she'd been sure that the supervisor was going to completely kick them out of Echo Ridge.

Manny made it back to her cabin, a smile instantly coming to her face as she found Darcy sitting on the front steps waiting for her. The other girl glanced up, and she stood quickly, hands clasping in front of her. She looked anxious.

"Hey," Manny said, brightly.

Darcy seemed only a little confused. "Hi," she said. Then she said quickly, "I'msorryIgotyouintotrouble."

Manny hesitated, sorting out the words she'd said, and then shook her head. "I didn't get into trouble," she said, "Your ex-friend told Geena that she started it -- I'm completely cool."

Darcy sighed, shoulders sagging slightly, and she finally smiled. "Wow," she said, "I thought for sure Geena was going to kick you out."

Manny shook her head again, but then her smile grew. "She did tell me to deliver a message to you though," she said, and Darcy suddenly looked like a deer in the headlights. Manny gave a little laugh, "She's requested that you move from your cabin into mine -- so as not to provoke Chante any further."

---------------------------------------------

Manny was laying in bed that night, watching Darcy unpack her few personal belongings to place on the table beside her cot. The taller girl had been excited about her move to Manny's cabin of course, but Manny couldn't help but think something was bothering her. She'd seemed a little too thoughtful that day, and Manny had to assume that it was because of the night before.

She tore her gaze off of the other girl, as Darcy turned around and got comfortable in the bed. She pretended she'd been focusing on her magazine rather than Darcy. Out of the corner of her eye, Manny saw the other girl pick up something -- the GLBTQ book. She couldn't explain why it made her so happy to know that Darcy was reading it.

"You like it so far?" She found herself asking, side-glancing her.

Darcy looked at her, seemingly a little flushed from the question, and she shrugged her shoulders. "Hard to say," she said softly. "I mean -- it's making sense, and I can agree with some parts of it." She suddenly gave a little smile, though it looked just a tad forced. "I guess you could say it's making me see things a little differently."

"Just don't change your thoughts and beliefs completely," Manny said, shutting her magazine. "I gave it to you to broaden your mind, not brainwash it."

Darcy seemed to relax a little bit at this assurance, and she nodded. Then she asked, "So who'd you borrow it from?"

Manny shook her head, lying down and pulling the blanket up to her chin. "She asked me not to say," she said -- and after what Gretchen had done for her today, Manny would _never_ give away her secret, not even to Darcy.

Darcy smiled a little, but then changed the subject. "Do you want me to turn off the light?" She asked.

Manny yawned, shaking her head. "No," she answered, "I used to sleep with it on all the time when I was little."

Darcy smiled again, and Manny closed her eyes, making it the last thing she saw before she fell asleep.

---------------------------------------------

Manny awoke in the middle of the night -- the cabin was completely dark except for the small light coming from Darcy's side. She rolled over to find the taller girl still awake, sitting up in bed and using a flashlight to read. She looked exhausted, and she was right at the end of the book which meant that it must've been pretty late. Manny quickly rubbed the sleep from her eyes and started to sit up.

"Darcy," she said, "What time is it?"

"Some time after two, I think," Darcy said. "I just didn't feel like sleeping."

Manny watched her for a moment in silence, and Darcy suddenly shut the book and looked at the cover again. She set it aside, on her table, and clicked off her flashlight.

"Finished now," she said, and in the dark, Manny could make out her moving around to get comfortable. "Did the flashlight wake you or anything?"

"Oh, no," Manny said quickly, "I woke on my own." She paused. "Are you okay?" She asked.

There was a brief silence, and for a second Manny thought that maybe Darcy was going to pretend she was asleep. But suddenly Darcy spoke, and it sounded as if she were about to cry.

"Not really," she answered.

Manny quickly threw the blanket back and climbed out of bed. She blindly walked across the room and sat down on the edge of Darcy's bed. Her eyes had adjusted somewhat, and she could just make out the other girl lying on her back.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

Darcy sighed, and shook her head. "I just, don't know, Manny," she said. "After reading that book I'm more confused than ever."

"It didn't make you feel just a little bit better?" Manny asked slowly.

"No, it did," Darcy said. "This is just so awkward, and...and weird. And it's still hard for me to get over how wrong it is -- I've been brought up to think it was wrong, you know. It's been instilled in my head."

"Talk about brainwashing," Manny said before she could stop herself. She hesitated though, wanting to hit herself. Hopefully Darcy didn't take offense to that, but she better apologize anyway. "I didn't mean it...like that," she said.

Darcy nodded, the movement not hard to see in the dark, and she sniffled. "No, you're right," she said. "I've been brainwashed by my family and by the church I go to -- I mean, so what if there are guys that like guys, or girls that like girls. It's not like they do it on purpose, right? It's not like they're doing it for the sole purpose of defying God?"

Manny smiled, "That's about right," she said. "We can't help what we feel, what our heart tells us to feel -- excuse this corny way of putting it."

Darcy laughed, and she sighed. "Yeah," she said softly, "Yeah."

A small silence settled over them, in which Manny looked around awkwardly. She was struck with the sudden urge to lay down with Darcy, but she didn't know how well that'd go over. Swallowing, she decided that she better just see what happens -- worst comes to worst, Darcy asks her to get out of her bed, right?

She tentatively laid down on her side, facing Darcy, and Darcy started to move. She didn't get up though, as Manny had feared, only rolled onto her side as well, so that she could face Manny. Manny took a deep breath, mostly to try and ease the flutters in her stomach, and she smiled.

"This is okay?" She asked.

Darcy nodded. "Yeah," she answered.

Manny reached down slowly, and she grabbed Darcy's hand. She linked her fingers with the other girl's, keeping her gaze fixed on Darcy's face to watch her expression. "Is this?" She asked.

Darcy hesitated, averting her gaze, and after a moment, she smiled again. Once more, it seemed like a forced smile, but Manny tried to pretend she hadn't noticed. She closed her eyes to go to sleep the second time that night, trying hard to ignore the shred of doubt in the back of her head.


	8. Chapter Eight

**Author's Note**: Just thought I should mention that there are going to be thirteen chapters of this story -- I have this habit of outlining and mapping out my chapters before I write them, so if they seem rushed, it's because I'm trying to fit them in the deadline. :P  
**Second Note**: I _really_ apologize for the wait for this update. My computer blew up (not literally of coruse) and I had to wait to get it fixed, because I'm lame and only have access to this one computer. I'm so sorry guys, and I hope you're still interested in the story.

---------------------------------------------  
**Bells For Her**  
---------------------------------------------  
_"Those are the sweetest words I never want to hear.  
What's a love without desire? A flame without a fire?"  
-- John Michael Montgomery, "Friends"_

**Eight.  
-**

"What are you thinking about?"

Manny was almost scared to ask, as Darcy sat across from her in the mess hall -- it was lunch time, and Manny had been trying to ignore the way Darcy'd been acting all day. She'd been quiet and out-of-it, completely unreadable. It made Manny's stomach hurt -- she was worried.

"What?" Darcy asked.

"You've been acting...weird today," Manny said slowly. "What are you thinking about?"

"Nothing," Darcy answered. "We have to go on a hike tomorrow."

Manny sighed, ignoring the pointed change of subject, and she nodded. "Yeah," she said, "I know. But you should be thinking more about the tennis we're playing after lunch."

Darcy nodded -- Manny'd been expecting her to make a face and a dorky, yet funny, comment about tennis. But the taller girl said nothing, and Manny found she'd lost her appetite.

---------------------------------------------

"Now, I'm gonna ask each of you to step up here separately," Jaime was swinging her tennis racket around as she spoke to the group of girls in front of her, "And I'm going to serve and lob balls at you -- now the main goal for you guys here today is to just hit them. It doesn't matter if it goes over the net, it doesn't even matter if it only goes a centimeter through the air and falls. Just have to hit them."

Manny sighed, but cut it off as she caught sight of the girls a few feet away from her. One was whispering to the other, and they were both looking at her.

"Bet she doesn't have any trouble missing _balls_."

Manny flushed and quickly turned away from them, biting her tongue. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Darcy look at her, but she shook her head. She couldn't help but suddenly feel a little doubtful -- Darcy's obvious uncertainty was just a little bit contagious, she supposed. Maybe she'd made a mistake.

"Alright," Jaime's fake enthusiasm was at least more believable than Loraine's, "Who's first?" Nobody volunteered at first, and the counselor put her hands on her hips. "Oh, come on," she said, "Don't be like that."

Darcy suddenly raised her hand. "I'll go," she said.

The same girl who'd made a rude comment about Manny quickly whispered, "Kiss-ass."

Manny turned to look at her, and she made a face, as if she were daring Manny to do something. Manny swallowed, shaking her head some and turning away. Thankfully, Darcy hadn't heard -- she was too busy taking the offered racket from Jaime. As Manny expected, Darcy didn't seem to have any trouble with hitting the balls -- or returning them at that. Jaime was so impressed that it was a little scary, and when she stopped serving, she seemed like she was just a little bit disheartened and reluctant to do so.

"Next?" Jaime asked, looking around at all of the girls.

Manny sighed, wondering what was wrong with her, and she stepped forward, raising one of her hands. Two volunteers already? You would've thought Christmas had come early for Jaime.

Darcy held out the racket for Manny to take, and for some reason, kept her gaze downcast. Manny stared hard at her, willing her to look up and make eye contact, but Darcy didn't. She just handed off the racket and walked around Manny, back towards the line of girls. Manny hesitated, the gears in her brain working furiously.

"Oh, lovers' tiff?" Someone randomly asked.

"Oh, knuckle sandwich?"A voice that sounded like Gretchen's asked.

Despite her hurt and worry, Manny had to smile as she stepped up to the line in front of the net. Gretchen had surprisingly become a bit of a safety net for Manny -- she'd randomly started up a conversation with her one day, which led to Gretchen coming out about her sexuality. Manny had then started to confide in and ask for advice from Gretchen, mostly about how she was feeling for a 'certain girl' and what she should do about that 'certain girl'. Gretchen had easily found out it was Darcy, and then she'd lent her book to Manny.

"How did you know you liked girls?" Manny'd asked when she'd taken the book from Gretchen.

Gretchen had shrugged, "I don't know," she had answered. "I just...did. I could imagine myself with a girl and it wasn't creepy or disturbing."

"You weren't awkward or uncomfortable with it?" Manny had asked next.

Gretchen had laughed. "Let me tell you something, Manny," she'd said, "I have two moms -- being a lesbian is the least awkward thing _ever_ in my household."

"How did you come out?"

"I sat down at the dinner table," Gretchen'd said, "And I said, 'Yeah, I think I might like girls,' and my moms both cooed over me for the rest of the night. It was great."

Manny couldn't help but feel jealous over how easy it'd been for Gretchen to realize she was gay -- Manny suddenly thought that she didn't have a clue as to what she was doing. After reading the book and speaking with Gretchen, she'd thought she was bisexual -- and she certainly found herself thinking more about girls, and not just Darcy. She randomly looked at the girls around her and tried to imagine being with them.

But maybe Chante had been right? Maybe she was just so used to having boys around that she was desperate. She didn't like this answer, but she supposed she couldn't rule it out completely.

"Manny -- ready?"

Manny suddenly came back to life, realizing that Jaime had repeated her question at least three times, and there were snickers and giggles coming from the group of campers. Manny blinked herself out of her haze, and nodded, raising the racket the way Jaime had shown them earlier.

"Yeah," she said distantly. "Ready."

Minutes later, she was limping towards the group of girls, and passing off her racket to a grimacing Gretchen. Stupid tennis, and stupid painful balls. She'd been hit once in the knee, and once in the ribs, managing to only hit one ball (that bounced uselessly a few feet), before Jaime had told her she could be done. She had to admit, it wasn't as if she'd actually been focusing all of her attention on the activity.

"Are you okay?" Darcy asked as she stepped back into line with her.

"Just peachy," Manny said. She paused, realizing how her tone must've sounded, and she nodded. She forced a smile to her face, side-glancing Darcy. "I'm fine."

If only Darcy knew, she thought.

---------------------------------------------

"We need to talk."

Darcy faltered in brushing her hair, pausing for a moment. She was sitting on her bed, her back to the other girl, and she'd just managed to work out a terribly tough knot that her ponytail had caused. Earlier, when they'd been playing tennis, Manny had grown quieter than usual -- Darcy knew it was because of the way she'd been acting, but she just couldn't help it.

She nodded. "Yeah," she said, "I suppose you're right."

She heard Manny climb out of her bed, and a second or two later, she was rounding Darcy's bed, and coming to sit beside the taller girl. Darcy took a deep breath, trying to ignore the rush of different feelings this gave her, and she set her hair brush down.

"I realize why you're acting so weird today, Darce," she said, "And I just wanted to say that I understand, I guess. And that I'm sorry I tried to rush this on you and stuff -- I just...I really like you."

Darcy swallowed. "I like you too, Manny," she said, "But I can't just...up and change like that." She hated saying this -- she hated even having to bring it up to Manny. She reached over and grabbed the GLBTQ book from her table and held it out. "The book really helped me to see things in another light, and I'm glad you suggested it. But I can't do this -- I can't pretend I'm okay with any of this."

Manny nodded, taking the book slowly, and she glanced up at Darcy. "It's okay," she said.

Darcy took a deep breath before speaking again -- this was the thing she'd been dreading having to say to Manny. "I think it'd be best if we forgot this -- went back to being just friends."

Manny looked as if she'd been slapped in the face, and Darcy had to wince. After a second, Manny nodded.

"Yeah," she said, though there was anything but agreement in her tone. "Yeah, you're right."

Darcy paused, and then reached for her bag on the floor. She dug around in one of the front pockets, and finally pulled out what she'd been looking for. She held it out to Manny and watched as the smaller girl's eyes widened.

"It was my great aunt's," Darcy said, "I never really liked the way it looked on me -- but I think it'd be perfect for you."

Manny slowly took the locket from Darcy's hand and held it up to look at it. It was a silver heart, simple and smooth, with a somewhat long silver chain. Darcy'd been lying when she said she didn't like the way it looked on her -- truth be told, she hated her great aunt, and had refused to wear it because of that.

"Darcy, I can't take this," Manny said, holding it back out towards her.

"Yes you can," Darcy said in an attempted playful voice, and she pushed Manny's hand lightly away. "A symbol of our friendship, okay? Or maybe it's an apology-gift from me, for not being able to --"

"You don't have to apologize," Manny quickly said, cutting her off, "Which is why I can't accept this."

Darcy gave a little smile. "Just put it on," she said. Then she remembered something. "Oh, and it doesn't open -- well, it _did_ at one point in time, probably. I just can't seem to get it."

Manny nodded and slipped the necklace easily over her head. She looked down at it as it bounced against her chest, and sighed.

"It's beautiful," she said, "Thank you."

Darcy nodded, but she wasn't thinking about the necklace. She wanted to apologize again, she felt like she had too -- a look had come to Manny's face that was entirely unreadable, and if she'd had to classify it, she would've said it was somewhere between disappointment and dejection.

Before Darcy could open her mouth though, it was suddenly time for lights out, and Manny was standing up. Darcy opened her mouth to say something, but words failed her.

"Goodnight, Darcy."

Manny went back to her bed, and Darcy stared at her back for a moment, before laying down. She'd hoped she'd feel better after talking to Manny, after making sure they could be just friends. Of course, she only felt worse.


	9. Chapter Nine

---------------------------------------------  
**Bells For Her**  
---------------------------------------------  
_"And the thorns that fall,  
have the guts to walk upon them all."  
-- Charlotte Martin, "Something Like A Hero"_

**Nine.  
-**

"This sucks."

Manny glanced over her shoulder to find Darcy battling with a sticker bush, and she couldn't help but smirk. The hike had started right after breakfast with Jaime and Jonathan being the leaders -- the girls had been split into two groups, and Jaime was responsible for one, while Jonathan the other. The day was somewhat cloudy, and though it looked as if rain was on its way, the humidity was almost unbearable.

"Could be worse," Manny said, hoping she wasn't sounding as distant as she felt. She couldn't help it -- in a week her life had gone from good to bad, and it was all because of Darcy. She didn't know what she was more upset about -- Darcy asking if they could be just friends, or her own confusion.

"I don't see how," Darcy said, giving the bush a final kick and trotting to keep up with the smaller girl. She'd been acting normal since their conversation, as if she truly had forgotten what'd happened.

Manny shrugged her shoulders, though not quite sure what to say. She hadn't realized how much farther she and Darcy had fallen back until she looked ahead and saw that the group had already started up the hill, while the two of them were still at the very bottom.

"Come on," she said, "We have to catch up."

"You know, you would've thought I killed your dog or something," Darcy's tone had quickly changed to one of irritation, and Manny felt her eyes widen, as she'd never once heard Darcy take that tone with her.

But then Manny's own anger bubbled to the surface, and she spun on the taller girl. "No," she snapped, "It's worse -- you gave me false hope, I _like_ you Darcy, so much that it boggles my mind and makes me feel like I'm going _crazy_."

Darcy flushed, but she still kept her irritation evident. "It's not as if I can magically change overnight, Manny," she said. "Maybe I like you too, maybe my mind gets a little wonky when I think about you -- but I'm sorry I can't be all accepting of it. Excuse the heck out of me for having my own beliefs."

"I have beliefs!" Manny said defensively, "Maybe they aren't as high and all mighty as yours, but I have them."

The two girls glared at each other for a moment or two, practically shooting fire from their eyes, but finally Darcy flushed and looked down.

"Sorry," she said, "I didn't mean to imply that you don't have beliefs, Manny."

"Well you did," Manny said, though even now the anger was ebbing away and replacing her with an apathetic feeling. "I might not have as many morals as you, but I _do_ have those too."

Darcy nodded. "Look," she said. "I'm really sorry, I feel like...crap because I can't be what you want me to be. I wish I could, and maybe someday when I'm older, I'll feel differently. It's just hard for me right now, and I don't want to lose your friendship."

Manny sighed, but she nodded as well. "I know," she said softly. "Don't beat yourself up or anything, Darce -- you shouldn't have been trying to be what I want. It isn't fair to you -- I'm sorry I acted like...like a bitch."

Darcy smiled, and she linked an arm with Manny's. "Just friends, okay?" She asked. "Let's go back to being just friends, and see what happens?"

It was tearing Manny's insides apart, making her go crazy with angst and depression. But she nodded, and forced a smile to her face. "Just friends," she said. "See what happens."

Darcy's smile grew, and she looked ahead of them. "Oh boy," she said, "We'd better go."

Manny followed her gaze as the taller girl started pulling her along. The last of their group had just disappeared over the top of the hill, leaving them alone at the bottom. Jaime and Jonathan would _kill_ them if they found them so far behind, and that was a fact, as cheery and bubbly as the counselors appeared.

When they finally reached the top of the hill, panting and clutching their sides, they found themselves on one side of a small river, the rest of the girls nowhere to be seen. Manny quickly stepped forward, looking around and squinting at the trees around her.

"Guys?" She called, hoping maybe one of the girls had been lagging behind. She got no answer, and turned to Darcy. "Which way?"

"What?" Darcy asked, confused.

"Don't they do this hike every year?" Manny asked, thinking Darcy might have been on it before.

Darcy bit her bottom lip, shaking her head. "No," she said. "Well, we hike every year, but usually we go left instead of up the hill -- I've never been to this river."

"Great," Manny said under her breath, looking around again. There didn't even seem to be a way across the river -- the other girls maybe had gone around it, but which way?

She opened her mouth to say something, but a sudden twig snapping made her shut up. She turned to Darcy, but the taller girl hadn't moved from her spot, and was wearing a look that said the noise had startled her. All of a sudden, across the river, Chante appeared, pushing a tree branch out of her way. She grinned like the very Cheshire Cat himself at the sight of the two girls, and placed her hands on her hips.

"What's this?" She called across the lake, "The two lezzies stopped for a quick make-up and make-out session?"

"Can it, Chante," Darcy said, "How do we get across?"

"Why should I tell you?" Chante demanded, "You didn't even ask nicely."

Manny rolled her eyes, placing her own hands on her hips, and took a few steps forward. "Chante, is it?" She asked in a sickly sweet voice. "Please, oh please, could you tell us the way across? You seem to be a smart girl."

Chante's eyes narrowed and she took a step forward, trying to appear menacing maybe. "You watch it," she said. She started to say something else, but that one step forward didn't agree with her, and the dirt beneath her started to crumble.

Next thing any of them knew, the bank was giving away, sending Chante tumbling into the river below. Darcy gasped, rushing forward, but Manny stayed where she was, watching. Surely Chante knew how to swim -- it's third grade stuff, right?

However, as Chante's head bobbed above the surface, the currents of the river pushed her into the hanging branches and leaves of a nearby bush, and her legs became tangled. She gave a little yelp of sorts, the branches putting her into an awkward position that almost pushed her back under the water, and she flailed slightly, smacking at them.

"Chante," Darcy said in a breath, looking around quickly. "Hold on."

Manny watched as the taller girl rushed to grab a large branch that had fallen from a nearby tree. She quickly rushed to the edge of the bank on their side, bending slightly and stretching out her arms, while Manny sighed.

"I'd just let her drown," she mumbled.

"Help me, Manny," Darcy said over her shoulder.

She couldn't refuse that, and Manny stepped forward. "What do I do?" She asked.

"Hold me," Darcy said, "I don't want to fall in with her -- that'll help nothing."

Manny nodded and grabbed Darcy's hips firmly, digging her own heels into the dirt to get a better grasp of things. Darcy bent forward a little more stretching out her arms as far as they would go, and the branch smacked at the rushing waters near Chante's head.

"Grab on, Chante," Darcy said, "Hurry."

The other girl struggled to keep her head above water, reaching weakly with one hand for the branch.

"Come on!" Manny said, surprising herself with her encouraging tone. "You can do it."

She couldn't believe she and Darcy were helping a girl who worked hard to make their days at camp miserable, a girl who openly made fun of them and called them lesbians. Then again, she knew she couldn't have just stood there and watched Chante drown or anything -- enemies or not.

Chante finally got a good grasp of the branch with both hands, twisting her body in a way so that she was floating on her stomach, legs still tangled.

"Come on," Darcy said. "Use your legs and kick -- they'll come loose." She then added in an undertone that sounded worried, "They have to."

Manny glanced at her -- the set jaw, the determined expression -- and her stomach gave a twist. She really _did _like this girl, no question about it. She nodded to no one in particular, tightening her grip on Darcy so as to keep the other girl as safe as she could. They'd get Chante out of the water, even if it took them all day.

"Almost," Darcy said as Chante's legs turned and flailed like a seal's, "Almost."

There were a few snaps and cracks, and finally the roots and branches holding onto Chante's legs fell away and slapped into the foamy surface of the water. She kicked away from the wall and Darcy and Manny quickly used all of the strength to pull her up onto the bank. When she was close enough, Manny let go of Darcy and reached around her to grab one of Chante's arms.

In no time, the girl was lying on her back, sopping wet and breathing hard. Darcy threw the branch aside, also panting, and she wiped away the sweat on her brow, as Manny put her hands back on her hips. Her arms were sore, but a sudden burst of pride swelled in her -- she and Darcy had just saved a life.

She looked to Darcy, who glanced up at her. "I'll have to start calling you Wonder Woman," she said to the taller girl. "Or do you like Supergirl more?"

Darcy grinned but shook her head. "Come on," she said, before reaching down to help Chante up. "We have to get her back to camp."

---------------------------------------------

Darcy was laying on her side in her bed, watching as Manny laid in her own bed reading. Her brow was furrowed and she was biting at her bottom lip. Earlier, when the counselors had found out that she and Manny had saved Chante, they'd been praised and praised -- they hadn't even been punished for slacking off and falling back. But that's not what was bothering Darcy.

"Manny?" She asked.

The other girl looked up, eyebrows raising from their concentrated position.

Darcy sighed before continuing. "Were you serious, earlier?" She asked. "When you'd said you just have let Chante drown?"

Manny paused, as if she didn't even remember the situation, but then she smiled. "Of course not," she said. She then looked away, "I guess it was a self defense mechanism -- I didn't want to show how scared I really was."

Darcy didn't say anything for a moment, and when Manny glanced back up at her, her brows furrowed.

"Really, Darce," she said, "I'd never let anyone drown, I promise."

"I know, I know," Darcy quickly said, rolling onto her back. "Sorry -- don't know what was I thinking."

"You were thinking maybe you were wrong in picking me to be your friend," Manny said casually. "An evil girl like me, huh?"

"No," Darcy said. "I was just curious, is all."

There was a silence, but when Manny spoke, there was a smile in her voice. "Not all of us can be a hero like you, Wonder Woman," she said. "We can't all be brave."

Manny clicked off her light suddenly, and the room was engulfed in darkness. Darcy started up at the shadowed ceiling, still gnawing at her lip and mind working furiously. If she was as brave as Manny said, she'd be able to deal with the storm of feelings raging inside of her.

She'd done the right thing in refusing Manny's advances, in saying they should remain friends and nothing more. Her brain knew it. But her heart seemed to disagree, and it seemed very angry at Darcy for what she'd done. Life wasn't supposed to be so confusing.


	10. Chapter Ten

**Author's Note**: I meant to say -- how about the new episodes? Talk about making me feel for Darcy; ugh, almost makes me want to cry. :(

---------------------------------------------  
**Bells For Her**  
---------------------------------------------  
_"And it's bad news.  
__Baby, I'm bad news."  
-- Rilo Kiley, "Portions for Foxes"_

**Ten.  
-**

Girls rushed towards the large gymnasium, some covering their heads with their hands, others hiding under make-shift umbrellas of towels. Darcy was one of these girls, holding a towel over her as if she were the Wicked Witch of the West about to melt with a little water, while Manny walked beside her leisurely, not minding the bit of rain.

"So what are we doing today?" She asked.

"Probably basketball inside," Darcy answered. "It doesn't rain a lot at Echo Ridge, but when it does we always do the same boring things."

Manny smirked as they entered the brightly lit gym. It looked like any school gym would, with yellowish brown wooden floors, marked with red and blue painted circles. It was larger than you'd expect, and there was a cart of basketballs against the wall when they entered, next to a bucket of what looked like jump ropes.

Jaime was alone today, standing near the door with a smile and her hands on her hips. The girls all entered, shaking water from themselves, and stood in a half-circle around her, waiting further instruction. Finally, after what seemed like forever, the young counselor seemed to feel like all the girls that were coming had arrived, and she cleared her throat.

"Wet enough for you gals out there?" She asked, apparently thinking that was a funny thing to say.

A few girls offered some forced chuckles to humor her, and she beamed.

"Now, as much as I know you girls would rather curl up in your beds," Jaime said, "That's _not_ what Echo Ridge is about -- it's about having fun and being active."

Manny threw Darcy a look, raising her eyebrows. Having fun and being active? Her parents seemed to think it was the equivalent of a prison or something.

"Which is why," Jaime continued, "You will be playing either basketball or jump rope." She gave a slight laugh, "I'll even make a few exceptions to some of you if you can suggest something else that sounds reasonable. Not sitting in a corner and talking, mind you --" She gave a trio of whispering girls one of _those_ looks as she said this, "-- but something that involves movement."

Minutes later, Darcy and Manny had claimed a basketball for themselves and were nearing one of the corners of the gym, while other girls rushed to Jaime with ideas that they hoped were reasonable. Darcy and Manny stopped a few feet away from each other, and Darcy bounced the ball to Manny.

"I had a weird dream last night," she said.

Manny smirked, catching the ball only to bounce it back. "About what?" She asked.

"You going to my school," Darcy said, and Manny couldn't be sure but she thought she saw a faint blushing to the taller girl's cheeks.

"What's so weird about that?" Manny asked when Darcy had passed the ball back to her.

"I didn't even know you were there for like a week," Darcy said, shrugging. "And I literally ran into you in the hallway."

"Then what?" Manny asked, more of a conversation-piece than anything.

"We were both like, 'Oh my God, it's you' and all that stuff," Darcy said, catching the ball and stopping briefly to smooth her hair away from her face. She gave Manny a little smile, "You know how us girls can be."

Manny laughed, nodding. "Yeah," she said.

"Anyway," Darcy continued, "That's when it got crazy -- you ended up showing one of my teachers that you were way smarter than anyone else in the room -- anyone else in the whole school, actually -- and they gave up their job so you could teach."

Manny burst out laughing and Darcy grinned. "Wow," the shorter girl said, "That is weird. That would never happen in a million years. The teaching part at least -- it'd be cool if we somehow ended up going to the same school though."

_If I could get over you, that is_, Manny thought wryly. Darcy nodded, and the two continued their little elementary game of passing the ball back and fourth.

And suddenly, Chante was standing beside them. She was alone, which was weird, as she was usually flagged by two girls -- her cronies who seemed to think her lesbian jokes were hilarious. Manny grabbed the ball as Darcy bounced it to her, but stopped and glanced at the third girl. Darcy put her hands on her hips, jutting her chin out some, and it took every ounce of power in her to keep Manny from laughing. There goes Wonder Woman.

Chante shifted slightly, awkwardly looking between the two before she gestured to the ball. "Mind if I play with you?" She asked in a small voice.

Darcy glanced at Manny before smiling and shaking her head. Manny would've rather heard Chante apologize like she should have, but she guessed that was apology enough. And just like that, things were okay between the three of them, as they resumed their game.

---------------------------------------------

Darcy finished making her bed and glanced to the desk where Manny was sitting working on something. The taller girl sat down on her bed and grabbed her hairbrush from her bag and sighing. As she started to brush her hair, she watched Manny's back.

"You know," Darcy said, "I don't really know anything about you."

Manny glanced briefly over her shoulder. "Why would you want to?" She asked.

"Because we're friends, duh," Darcy said, smiling slightly. It faded as she then added, "All I know is...you know. Why your parents sent you here."

Manny's shoulders moved with the obvious breath she took, and she turned in her chair. "It's not like there's anything interesting there," she said. "My best friend is named Emma, we've known each other forever practically. We have one of those weird friendships where we fight all the time, but we're always there for each other in the end."

Darcy nodded, laying back in her bed some and giving Manny what she hoped was an encouraging look. She suddenly was struck with the urge to learn everything about Manny, from her favorite color to the animal she liked least, and everything in between.

"I like dancing," Manny said, almost randomly, "And I was thinking of trying out for the cheerleading squad at my school this year."

Darcy suddenly imagined Manny wearing the uniform that Degrassi's Spirit Squad wore -- she was on the team herself, and it was easy to picture Manny cheering beside her. "I'm a cheerleader," she said. "I knew there was a reason we bonded."

Manny smiled, but suddenly turned back to the desk, shrugging. "I'm not that important," she said randomly, "Why don't you tell me about _you_?"

"Because you aren't finished telling me about _you_," Darcy said playfully.

"There's not much to tell," Manny said with a sigh, standing up. "Seriously, Darce -- what do you want to know?"

"Your last boyfriend," Darcy said, "What was he like?"

"Craig?" Manny asked. "Well, he was Craig -- he was tall, good-looking, a musician. He could make any girl melt."

Darcy nodded as the smaller girl neared the bed. Manny sat down beside her and shrugged her shoulders once more.

"I thought I loved him, I guess," she said. "I mean -- that's why we...you know. A lot of people call me the school slut now...but he was the only one."

Darcy reacted without thinking, reaching out to grab Manny's hand. This seemed to comfort the other girl just slightly, and she continued talking.

"I guess I may have earned such a reputation by the way I dress," she said before she gave a little laugh, "I just like to look good, you know."

"I heard this line somewhere," Darcy said, searching her brain as she tried to remember, "I think it's perfect for you -- 'the only people who don't like you are either jealous or plain stupid,' or something like that."

Darcy really didn't know what she was trying to say, she realized as the words escaped her mouth that she had completely ruined the line she'd been trying to recite -- she just wanted to make Manny feel better. It was obvious that she didn't really like the person she was, and that was uncalled for. Darcy _knew_ that Manny was a good person, despite the mistakes she'd made.

Manny laughed, "Thanks," she said. "I doubt it though. There'd have to be a lot of stupid people out there, seeing as I don't think there's anything to be jealous of."

The signal for lights out suddenly sounded, interrupting their conversation. Manny gave the softest of sighs, and started to stand up, gaze lowered. Feeling as if she were all of a sudden possessed by something else, Darcy quickly grabbed her hand again. She couldn't stop the words that tumbled out of her mouth next.

"Sleep with me tonight," she said, somewhat stiffly.

Manny raised a brow at her, hints of a smile appearing on her face. "Really?" She asked.

Darcy nodded, still feeling as if someone else was controlling her body. "Yeah," she said. "It feels better to have someone else in my bed with me."

A wide smile broke onto Manny's face, and she started to lay down in the bed. Darcy attempted to return the smile, reaching over to click off the light as she laid back as well. The two ended up lying on their sides, facing each other like the time before, and the moonlight that shone through the window beside the bed gave off enough illumination for them to see each other's faces. Manny was still smiling, only now it was small.

"I'm sorry," she said softly. "I know how uncomfortable this is for you."

"Don't apologize, it's not you," Darcy said with a small sigh and half-smile. "I'm just...feeling so many things right now."

Manny didn't ask this time as she took Darcy's hand in her own, linking their fingers together. Heat shot up Darcy's arm, and butterflies exploded in her stomach -- as per usual whenever Manny touched her. Her heart even quickened slightly at the feeling of the smaller girl's warm fingers twisted in hers.

"I know," Manny said in a voice that could be considered soothing. "And I'm sorry for that too."

Darcy took a deep breath as they watched each other, and she nodded, not knowing what to say.

"I'm kind of confused too," Manny said. "Sometimes I'm so sure that I _like_ you, but sometimes I think it's just because...well...maybe Chante was right when she said I was desperate."

"No," Darcy said a little more sharply then she'd meant. "You're not desperate, you're not like that."

Manny smiled again. "Thanks," she said, seemingly a little sheepish now.

Darcy nodded once more, before shrugging the shoulder she wasn't laying on. "Do you feel like your arm is on fire when you touch me?" She asked, before turning a brilliant shade of scarlet. What was wrong with her?

Manny smiled, able to see her embarrassment apparently, and she nodded. "All the time," she said.

"My mother used to tell me that that's how I'd know I'd found my soul mate," Darcy said in a voice that was suddenly a whisper. "Of course, she probably didn't expect it to happen with a girl."

"Do you believe in soul mates?" Manny asked, a hint of skepticism in her tone.

"I don't know," Darcy admitted. "I didn't believe in homosexuality until I read that book."

There was a small silence in which Manny lowered her eyes -- it looked as if she'd closed them. For a split second, Darcy thought the other girl had fallen asleep. Suddenly, she'd squeezed Darcy's hand though, and looked back up at her.

"Darcy," she said in a low tone, "I know you said we should just be friends -- and I've been trying. But there's something I've been wanting to do for a while, just to see if...you know...it feels right."

Darcy's throat closed up and her heart quickened even more, fluttering and pounding crazily against her chest. It was so loud in her ears that she could barely hear Manny's question.

"Would you mind if I kissed you?" She asked. "It's okay if you don't want me to..."

Darcy swallowed, finding trouble in this simple motion, but instead of answering, she took the biggest leap of her life, and leaned towards Manny. The other girl tensed up, as if she hadn't expected an affirmative answer from Darcy, and in what felt like a mini-eternity, their lips touched.

Her breath caught in her throat as Manny's lips shaped hers almost perfectly, and her whole body seemed to catch flame instead of just the hand holding Manny's. As if two completely different people had taken over their bodies, the girls deepened the kiss, taking it from a simple peck to something more. Their mouths moved against one another's, and instinct took over.

A surge of excitement flooded Darcy's body as their tongues met, and even though somewhere in the back of her head, something told her it was wrong, she couldn't help but enjoy herself. And even though she knew she'd feel bad the next day, ashamed even, she couldn't stop herself -- not even to save her soul.


	11. Chapter Eleven

**Author's Note**: You guys may hate the way this story turns out -- I'm sorry I took so long to update. I'll try to get the next parts up as soon as I can, but with NaNoWriMo coming up in like six days, we'll have to see.

---------------------------------------------  
**Bells For Her**  
---------------------------------------------  
_"You can't be too sure that your secret  
life won't show through..."  
-- Sarah Blasko, "Beautiful Secrets"_

**Eleven.  
-**

Darcy knew something was wrong the instant that she and Manny entered the mess hall -- it could've been the feeling she'd had in the pit of her stomach since she'd woken up tangled in the blankets with Manny, but it also could've been the way the other girls fell silent to stare. Manny tensed up beside her, faltering in her steps, and Darcy almost reached out to grab her hand -- almost.

"What's their problem?" Manny asked as the two of them walked slowly towards the breakfast line.

"Who knows?" Darcy said, trying to seem unaffected, though her voice cracked.

And suddenly, Jonathan the counselor was in front of them, looking a little awkward. Both girls paused, looking at each other as he cleared his throat.

"Ladies," he said with a nod in greeting, "Hate to disrupt your meal but the both of you have to meet with Geena."

"Why?" Manny demanded, and Darcy wondered whether or not she should start calling _her_ Supergirl.

Jonathan shifted, and it was apparent he knew damn well why, but instead, he replied, "I don't know -- she just needs to speak with you two."

Darcy once more glanced at Manny, her heartbeat quickening in a different way than the night before. She nodded at Jonathan, before the two of them started for the door again. She could feel the gazes of the other girls on her as they left, and try as she might she just couldn't ignore them. Just as they were leaving, the whispering started up.

"How could they know?" Manny asked in an undertone as they stepped outside. The sky was gray, threatening another bout of rain, but the air was humid and muggy.

"I don't know," Darcy answered truthfully. "I don't know."

They trudged towards Geena's cabin, Darcy once again wishing she had enough courage to take Manny's hand. As they stepped inside, they found a very solemn-looking Geena at her desk, fingers steepled. She smiled when she caught sight of the two girls, but that didn't make Darcy feel any better.

"Hello," she said brightly, "Manny, I'm going to have to ask you to step outside for a moment while I talk with Darcy."

She got right down to business, and what she said made Darcy's stomach curl up into a defensive ball. She turned to Manny with wide eyes, and the other girl gave her a reassuring look before nodding at Geena and turning back around. The door shut as she left, and the room was engulfed in silence.

Geena cleared her throat, still smiling, "Now, Darcy, have a seat."

She moved slowly forward, feeling like a rusty robot, and she perched on the edge of the seat of the chair. Her hands wrung nervously in her lap, and she took a few deep breaths trying to steady herself. The woman sighed next, looking away from Darcy to the window to her right.

"I was told something very surprising today," she said slowly. "A counselor was tipped off by another girl who seemed to think that there was something..._inappropriate_ going on between you and Manny."

"Geena --" Darcy started.

The woman held her hand up to silence her, and she quieted. "This counselor saw with their own eyes -- they'd went to check if such a thing was true," Geena sighed. "Now, may I ask why Manny was found in bed with you this morning, Darcy?"

_Lie!_ Darcy's mind screamed at her, _Tell her Manny had a nightmare and you were just trying to console her, tell her that Manny's bed had a mouse living in it. Tell her something!_

"We fell asleep together...on accident," she said slowly, "We were both looking at the same magazine and dozed off."

"Darcy," Geena began slowly, once more steepling her fingers, "You aren't in trouble for your...preferences -- but stuff like this is not allowed here at Echo Ridge."

"But we didn't do anything," Darcy said. "We just like sleeping in the same bed."

"How long has it been going on?" Geena asked.

Darcy almost came out and said a few days, as Manny _had_ slept in her bed before. "Just last night," she answered.

"It can't happen again," Geena said. "I'm half-tempted to call your parents, Darcy, but I can only imagine what kind of trouble that would get you into."

Darcy flushed and lowered her head some. Geena sighed again.

"I'm going to have to ask you to move back into your old cabin," she said, "You and Chante have made up your differences haven't you?"

Darcy nodded, but said, "But Manny's all alone."

"If she's lonely I'll let someone else stay with her," Geena said. A look of genuine sadness came to her face, and she leaned across the desk slightly, lowering her voice to a more motherly tone. "Hon, I don't want to separate you, but I would get my head cut off if news let out that I was allowing such behavior at my camp. I'm sorry."

Darcy knew that this was her dismissal, and after a moment of staring at Geena, dumbfounded, she stood up.

"Send Manny in, please," Geena said as Darcy moved towards the door, feeling as though things were moving in slow motion.

She opened the door to find Manny standing a few feet away, chewing her nails. The smaller girl looked to her with a questioning gaze, but all Darcy could do was shake her head slowly before walking away. Warm tears were burning in her eyes, and she wasn't sure she'd be able to hold them back anymore.

---------------------------------------------

Manny stared blankly at the book she held open, reading the words but not really understanding them. She couldn't believe how her day had turned out -- it had started so good when she woke beside Darcy. After the talk with Geena however, Darcy had come back to the cabin to get her things, and she'd been in the process of moving into her old cabin when Manny'd returned, shellshocked and distraught.

Manny hadn't seen her since she'd left, but she supposed it hadn't helped that she'd skipped out on both lunch and dinner. She wasn't alone however, as Geena had moved another camper into her cabin in place of Darcy. Thankfully for Manny it wasn't anyone but Gretchen, who'd apologized profusely all day as if it'd been her fault.

"Manny?"

She looked up at the other girl, who was lying down to go to sleep.

"Are you okay?"

Manny sighed, shutting her book. "I will be," she said, turning off the light. "'Night Gretchen."

She knew the other girl wasn't convinced, but fortunately she'd fallen silent. Manny could tell that the rest of her days at Echo Ridge were going to be Hell.

---------------------------------------------

And Hell they were.

Many days passed, days in which the counselors made it quite clear in their actions that they didn't want Darcy and Manny to be together. They were allowed to sit together at meals, but during activities, whoever was supervising worked hard at keeping them apart -- in what they thought were inconspicuous ways, of course.

Manny had Gretchen to fall back onto -- whenever she felt like she needed to vent at the unfairness of it all, and Gretchen helped as much as she could. The same went for Darcy and Chante, making it a very good thing that they'd resolved their issues. Darcy wouldn't have been able to survive had she not had Chante.

"I can't believe camp's almost over," Darcy said one day during lunch.

The two always sat by themselves in the mess hall, as they needed as much time together as they could get.

"Yeah," Manny agreed. "Seems like just yesterday we were falling out of that stupid canoe."

Darcy grinned, but it faltered slightly, and she looked down. "Manny," she said, "I've been wondering something..."

"What?" Manny asked.

"What are we?" Darcy asked, fighting back blush. "I mean...we don't exactly have a normal _relationship_. What do you consider us?"

Manny smiled, looking down and shrugging her shoulders. "I don't know," she said. "I like to think we're...you know, a couple. But you're definitely right -- our relationship is far from normal."

Darcy nodded, taking a short breath. "So," she said, "Girlfriends...?"

Manny studied her for a moment, and Darcy knew that the other girl was looking for something. After a second, she grinned broadly, nodding. She reached across the table and took one of Darcy's hands in her own.

For a second, Darcy didn't feel like she was doing anything wrong -- for the first time since Manny had confessed liking her, Darcy was _comfortable_.


	12. Chapter Twelve

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**Bells For Her**  
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_"The littlest things that take me there,  
I know it sounds lame, but it's so true."  
-- Lily Allen, "Littlest Things"_

**Twelve.  
-**

The sun was shining brightly, and Manny had to admit that Geena couldn't have picked a better day to throw the 'End-of-Camp' party. It was being held two days before the girls would leave, right outside the mess hall around the back, where the cooks had lined up tables of food and drink, and the counselors had hung a volleyball net. Geena had brought out her radio, and some of the girls were taking turns deciding which CDs they wanted to play.

Manny had seated herself at a picnic table, and she currently was alone, fingering the locket that Darcy had given her. Her gaze swept the crowd of girls occasionally, and Gretchen stopped by more than once to have a small chat. Finally Darcy herself appeared, spotting her almost right away.

"Hey," Darcy said brightly, sitting down across from her. "What's up?"

"Not much," Manny answered, "Just glad I don't have to be fishing or drawing with rocks and berries."

Darcy laughed at that, as one of the last activities they'd done was exactly that -- the counselor that supervised arts and crafts had gotten the bright idea from a friend of hers.

"Guess what," Manny said, standing up slightly to bend over the table. "I got it to open," she said before Darcy could ask, pulling open the locket.

"Wow," Darcy said, and her eyes widened in surprise when she saw what Manny had put in there.

The brochure for Camp Echo Ridge had had pictures of some of the girls in various activities, and it just so happened that Manny had found a picture of Darcy at the lake with Loraine. The quality wasn't too good, but it was in color -- even if it hadn't been, of course Manny would've used it.

"It didn't have anything else in it, and I just really wanted to put something there," Manny said, sitting back down, looking both flushed and a little proud of herself. "And what else could it have been?"

"That's great," Darcy said, but then her brow furrowed. "But maybe you should take it out."

"What?" Manny asked, incredulously. "Why?"

"Well, I mean," Darcy said, shrugging, "Camp's over in two days, and it's gonna be hard for us to stay together yet be so far away."

Manny shook her head. "Listen, Darce," she said, "The only thing that should matter is that we like each other right? Let's just...forget that we'll have to separate -- just enjoy the time being."

Darcy was silent, looking thoughtful, and for a moment Manny thought she was going to disagree with her. But then Darcy smiled, and she nodded.

"You're right," she said. "Who knows what the heck I was thinking? Long-distance 'ships are cool, right?"

"Right," Manny laughed before reaching into her pocket. She pulled out the bracelet she'd been fingering for the last hour. "I made this in arts and crafts," she said, sliding it across the table. "It's no fancy locket or anything, but I wanted to give you something."

Darcy picked up the simple beaded bracelet -- the beads were rainbow colored -- and she smiled wider as she slipped it on her wrist. "I love it," she said.

"It's not a rainbow for...you know, gay pride, or anything," Manny said, starting to ramble, "I made it a rainbow because of something I heard a long time ago. My mother used to take me to church, and one time when I was standing outside I saw a rainbow. I'd never seen one before, so I acted all goofy and stuff, and some old lady had heard me. She told me that rainbows were God's way of smiling, and I thought...well, you make _me_ smile."

Darcy laughed, and she nodded. "Thank you," she said, fingering the beads again. "I really love it." As if to emphasize her point, she held her arm out and studied the way the jewelry looked on her.

Manny laughed. "Yeah right," she said, "I know it's cheap."

Darcy rolled her eyes, reaching across the table and lightly smacking Manny's hand. "Shut up," she said, "I love it -- and I'm going to wear it forever. Except in the shower, because I don't want to ruin it."

Gretchen suddenly appeared, asking the girls if they'd join in on the volleyball game, as they needed more players. Despite the fact that Manny would've normally declined, she was too happy to do so. With a glance at Darcy, the two of them stood up and started towards the other players. It may've been one of their last days together at camp, but it was too nice a day to even think about that.


	13. Chapter Thirteen

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**Bells For Her**  
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_"Watching the butterfly go towards the sun,  
I wonder what I will become."  
-- Hilary Duff, "Metamorphosis"_

**Thirteen.  
-**

Darcy sighed as she watched her father's car pull up to where she and Manny were standing. She turned to the smaller girl, trying not to look as sad as she felt. Sad, awkward, miserable, uncomfortable -- she could've probably written a thesaurus for all the different things she was feeling.

"This came too fast," she said, "Wish we had more time of summer left."

Manny laughed, "Yeah, tell me about it," she said. "But we'll get together again, don't worry. Thank God for phones, right?" She elbowed Darcy as she cheekily said this, making the taller girl laugh.

"Yeah," Darcy agreed, glancing down at the number written on her hand. She'd already memorized it, but she wouldn't tell Manny that. "Want me to wait around with you for your parents? Mine wouldn't mind."

"Nah," Manny answered. "When my parents arrive, I have to look like I had a horrible time. This _was_ supposed to be a punishment for me."

Darcy grinned. "Was it?" She asked.

"Definitely not," Manny answered.

Without speaking, the girls hugged. When they pulled apart, Manny seemed to be holding her breath. Her gaze darted to where the Edwards' car was humming, waiting for Darcy.

"Are your parents watching?" She asked.

Darcy glanced towards the car, brow furrowed. "No," she answered, slightly confused.

The smaller girl suddenly leaned up and gave her a quick peck, making both girls blush as red as the setting sun. You would've thought that they'd never kissed before. Manny sheepishly laughed, shrugging her shoulders.

"Sorry," she said.

Darcy smiled. "Not at all," she said, "I guess I'll get going then."

Manny nodded. "Call me whenever you feel like it," she said. "It'll be great to hear from you, especially since I have to go back to the dump I call a school."

Darcy gave a little laugh. "Definitely," she said. "See you around, Manny."

And just like that they were departing. Darcy carried her few bags to her father's car, where her dad had already popped the trunk. She quickly stowed her stuff, and rounded the car to one of the back doors. She gave Manny a quick wave, pulling the door open, and sliding inside.

"Who was that, dear?" Darcy's mother asked from the passenger seat.

"Just a friend," she said, "She was new this year."

Her mother made one of those motherly comments about how nice it was for new friends, but Darcy had turned in her seat to look out the back window. Manny had returned to sitting on the bench they'd been occupying, and she now stared at the ground, her hand at her throat -- Darcy knew she was fingering the locket.

A terrible feeling went through her chest as her father started to pull away from the camp, and she looked down at her hand. Manny's handwriting was neat, and the numbers were easily distinguishable on her hand. With a small sigh, she licked the tip of her thumb and reached down to run it over the ink. It smeared immediately, and all Darcy could see were three numbers. She didn't know why she even bothered with this -- she knew the other girl's phone number by heart by now, and she knew she'd never forget it.

She mentally apologized to Manny as she looked out the window. Scenery flew past, and she fingered the rainbow bracelet, before clutching it like a lifeline. She knew she'd never have been able to work up the courage to actually call Manny, especially not on the phone her parents used. Calling Manny would just be torture on her part, as they just weren't meant to be. Or so the logical side of Darcy said. That small part of her was telling her that forgetting Manny was the smartest thing she could ever do -- her life was already planned out for her, and having a girlfriend wasn't in those plans.

She knew it was horrible. She knew it made her a bad person, a mean and horrible person. But she also knew that when Manny forgot her, the both of them would be better off.

_God, forgive me_, she thought with just a hint of sarcasm.

**.end.**

**Author's Note**: Apologies for how this ending may have seemed to some -- it was the original ending I'd planned to use all along, as abrupt as it is. I would like to say however, that I'm also _planning a sequel_, because I couldn't just leave our girls stranded with such a horrible ending.

Thank you so much to any and everybody who's reviewed this story, even if you've only taken the time to comment on one chapter. Every word means so much to me, you guys. :)


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